The 'Promises' Trilogy: Search for Saren
by f1manoz
Summary: First prequel to 'Promises Made, Promises Kept'. Commander Shepard is a man battling his many personal demons, desiring to be a good man, but haunted by a past he simply wants to forget. But all this starts to change when he saves a young quarian engineer, and Shepard starts to realise that maybe there are some things worth fighting for.
1. Prologue

_Right, so here goes. My first fan-fiction 'Promises Made, Promises Kept' did well. Better than I expected, in all honesty. I'm no wordsmith, my writing is rather simple, but I hope to at least develop interesting characters and tell a good story nonetheless._

_So, having completed that, I thought I may as well start at the beginning._

_If you've read 'Promises', you'll know what the eventual romance will be. If you haven't, then you'll find out._

_In truth, I've done this all back to front. Should have written these three first before my first story. Kind of hamstrung myself, as well, considering I wrote 'Promises' based on the first three games. I'll see what I can do going forward regarding originality._

_Going for something different to what I've read in other stories regarding Shepard as being Earth-born. Hoping I can pull off what I'm hoping regarding his character. I dropped some hints throughoutt 'Promises'._

_Rated M. Shepard is a soldier, so there will be language (not quite Jack levels). Bit of violence too. No sexual content will be in this first prequel._

_As a final thing, I should say, Bioware own all characters etc from Mass Effect._

_Enjoy!_

* * *

Space.

Once known as 'the final frontier'.

The dark, empty void that had captivated humanity since the days that prehistoric man had first stumbled out of caves and looked into the sky. It had stirred the imaginations of humanity as the night, almost daily, revealed billions of objects, stars, planets and systems. Poems, literatures, songs, they all waxed lyrical of the wonders of space. Yet it always lead to the one question humanity was always left asking:

Were we alone in the galaxy?

That question would also take thousands of years to answer. First, humanity had to escape the confines of Earth. In the middle of the 20th Century, man had taken its first fleeting steps off the home-world. It had, at the time, been 'one giant leap for mankind'. But, as events unfolded during the 21st Century and onwards, it was soon proven that humanity had so much more to learn. And that walking on the moon, and later Mars, were small steps for mankind indeed.

The discovery of alien artefacts on Mars in the middle of 22nd Century answered one important question. Humanity may not be alone in the galaxy. Someone had, at one time, been watching events unfold on Earth.

Who were they? What did they want? Had they ever visited Earth?

That discovery caused an explosion in scientific progress, matching everything humanity had discovered in the preceding 10,000 years combined, and the eventual discovery of a mass relay. The next few years led to humanity exploring the stars, finding numerous worlds that may be capable for human exploration and habitation. Opportunities for humanities progression were everywhere.

In 2157, humanity found out it was definitely not alone. And the galaxy was indeed a dangerous place. A brief conflict that humanity called 'The First Contact War', with a race that would soon reveal themselves as the turians, almost led to full-scale conflict with an alien species. This crisis was avoided when the Citadel Council revealed itself to humanity, and once and for all, humanity discovered that they were part of an interstellar galactic community.

Since that first contact, humanity had been slowly but surely integrated itself into the galactic community. Many races were impressed with the speed and scope of humanity's progression. Others, who had been on the scene far longer, were left concerned at their own position. At times, it had caused friction with races already members of the wider community, but on the whole, it was a peaceful transition.

The one question left was:

What was still out there to discover?

* * *

**EARTH**

The young man stood outside the building that housed the Alliance recruiting office. He had been stood there, staring at the electronic advertisement, for at least five minutes. Probably longer. He'd have checked the time, if he had a watch. The occasional passer-by gave him no more than a cursory glance before moving on.

The young man was used to being ignored. In some ways, it had helped him survive. In other ways, it made him feel incredibly alone. He had always been alone. Always felt alone. His thoughts immediately turned to his life so far.

He knew he'd been abandoned by whoever had given birth to him. He had figured out that while growing up in the orphanage. While life wasn't unpleasant at the orphanage, not like the vids he had seen from the 20th Century, or the old-time novels he had read like Charles Dickens, at least it was a place that provided a roof over his head, food in his belly, a warm bed at night and clothing on his back. But it certainly didn't provide things like the love and affection like any child craves. Although he never lacked for material goods, he felt lonely and unloved. The people who ran the orphanage were nice enough, but he always felt like a burden. Just another task to complete. A job.

So he ran away once he reached his teenage years. Even now, standing there outside the building, he thought it was a stupid thing to do. The streets were harsh and unforgiving, certainly for a kid who had spent years coddled away from the world. He found himself ever lonelier for a time, struggling to survive. Eventually he found himself adopted by some form of gang. In his mind, it was a means to an end. At least he had a roof over his head once again, usually had food in his belly and at least he had people to be around again. But he had never let them get close, despite how alone he felt. To begin with, he thought it had always been a matter of mere survival for why they had banded together.

Over time, he came to realise he was just as unhappy being part of this gang as he was at the orphanage. He came to know most of the members quite well, and found they were far from just a bunch of ruffians who happened to live on the streets. Some turned to serious crime to survive, more than just the pickpocketing and light stealing that many of them committed. Others were dealing drugs and benefitting from the misery of others. Then there were the xenophobes, who preached all manner of anti-alien doctrine to anyone who was a member, who they blamed for all the ills of the world. He felt even more like an outsider as time went by, as he never agreed with the more outrageous crimes that were being committed. He wanted to do more with his life than simply exist and survive. He certainly wanted more than what he was experiencing with that life.

He set his mind. When he turned 18, things would change.

He turned his mind back to the present, looking up as the advertisement continued to shine. Its words clear:

**WOULD YOU LIKE TO EXPLORE THE GALAXY?**

**JOIN THE ALLIANCE NAVY TODAY!**

Pictured on the advertisement was a spaceship. The young man didn't know which sort. It appeared to be heading towards something he did know.

A mass relay.

Everyone knew what a mass relay was. Their discovery had been one of the greatest events in human history. The mass relays had allowed humanity to reach beyond their own system. To finally explore the stars. And humanity found out they were no longer alone in the galaxy.

The young man continued to stare. Thinking. Mulling over his options. He wanted off Earth. He wanted to escape. He wanted to do something with his life. He wanted to explore the stars. Explore the galaxy. There was surely something out there, better than his current existence.

With a simple nod to himself, he walked in through the front door of the building.

_What other option do I have? It's either serve the Alliance or eventually die here on the streets._

The young man walked up to the buildings receptionist. She looked up as he approached. A look of disdain crossed her face, albeit briefly, before she gave a small grin.

"How may I help you, young man?"

"Which floor is the Alliance Recruitment office, ma'am?"

"10th floor. Take one of the elevators to your right. They will take you straight there."

"Thanks, ma'am."

The receptionist gave another brief smile before returning to her work. The young man walked over to the elevator and ascended to the 10th floor. The doors opened and the young man was surprised to find the reception of the recruitment office relatively quiet. A blue wall was in front of him, the Alliance insignia painted in the middle. Above the insignia, a small vid-screen, displaying more advertisements.

The young man looked around the office. A closed door, he assumed which led further in the building. There was little else, a few seats against two of the walls. The occasional pot plant. One or two smaller tables with datapads. Directly in front of him, sat behind a desk, a young receptionist. She was brunette, dressed in an Alliance uniform, definitely in her early 20's. She had looked up when he entered, and was now waiting for him to approach. He walked and stood in front of her.

"Good morning. How can I help you today?" she asked, with a smile.

"I'd like to sign-up, ma'am," replied the young man.

"Good. That's great. Please, take a seat over there," as she indicated, with a hand gesture, to one of the seats along the wall, "And a recruitment officer will be with you shortly. And, please, take these datapads with you. They are full of information about the Alliance, the recruitment process and further details you may be interested in finding out."

The young man simply nodded, took both datapads, and walked over to take a seat. He had been sat for a few minutes, reading the information, when the closed door he had originally noticed, opened, and a tall man, dressed in Alliance uniform, walked through and approached him. "Good morning. So you would like to join the Alliance Navy?"

The young man stood, nodding his head. "Yes, sir. I would."

"Excellent," as the officer held out a hand, the young man raising his to shake it, "Please, follow me to my office. We'll start taking your details and get the process underway."

The young man followed, as the recruitment officer turned and walked through the door. Now the usual sounds of an office entered his ears. The general hub-bub of a working area. There were numerous men and women, all dressed in Alliance uniform, either sat at workstations, or walking quickly around the partitioned cubicles. Others were stood in pairs or groups at various points, deep in conversation. Along the walls were numerous vid-screens, showing either the same advertisements he had seen outside, or showing one of many news channels available on the extranet.

The young man followed the officer until he came to a smaller room. The officer walked around the desk, and took a seat. He indicated to the seat in front of him. "Please, take a seat."

The young man looked around the relatively spartan office before sitting down. The recruitment officer took out a datapad.

"Okay, we'll just start with some basic information. Firstly, what's your name?"

"John William Shepard."

* * *

**ELYSIUM**

Smoke rose from the shattered buildings, windows smashed, others falling to rubble. Craters, created by the mortar fire, were filled by water, rubble, and the bodies of the civilians who had not made it to shelter in time. The survivors wandered around, most had a dazed look in their eyes, disbelieving they had survived such an onslaught. Soldiers, who had arrived to relieve the defenders of Elysium, marched around with the intent to ensure the city, and the colony as a whole, was secured.

The defenders were now at rest. One such soldier, Lieutenant John Shepard, was leaning against a make-shift barricade. A bloody knife, the only weapon he retained after the hours of brutal fighting, was still in his hand. His borrowed armour was pock-marked with holes.

It was coloured black.

And red.

He was sure he'd been shot at least twice, but at the moment, there was no pain. The medi-gel was working wonders. An Alliance medic was currently leaning over him, working on another wound to his arm. He could hear the medic talking, but at the moment, nothing was going in.

He simply stared ahead.

He wanted nothing more than to close his eyes and sleep forever.

He was surrounded by bodies. Most were of the enemy. The majority appeared to be batarian, though there were some humans, and a few other races he didn't particularly take note of. Behind the barricade against which he was leaning, bodies littered the street.

The invaders.

They had been cut down as they ran, a suicidal run towards his position.

In the skies above, Alliance ships patrolled. The invasion force, which had arrived with such surprise, had been utterly decimated. Barely any of the invasion force had managed to escape. They had arrived unprepared for the defensive shield that surrounded Elysium, and did not account for the fire-power of Alliance warships. It has been almost too easy, enemy ships being picked off with ease.

Shooting fish in a barrel.

The ground battle, though, had been a different affair. It had been brutal. It had been relentless. And it had been bloody. Yet the men and women of Elysium did not falter in their defence. Hundreds had fallen where they stood along the wall, and in the streets, defending their homes, their families, and their lives. But the defenders had endured.

Stood tall.

Stood strong.

And survived.

Single-handedly, Shepard had stopped an incursion in one section of the defensive wall. If that had fallen, it is likely his entire sector would have fallen to the invaders. Chaos and death would have ensued throughout the city. Manning a fixed machine gun, Shepard had cut down the invaders as they ran towards his position. He thought it was sheer madness. It was suicide. Yet, even during the time, he had to admire their bravery, as they ran to their inevitable death. The invaders had little choice. They could look up into the sky to see their own way home was lost. They lacked that one important ingredient that any fighting man requires.

Hope.

He could sense that the other sectors were holding, the defenders of Elysium were standing their ground, unwilling to give an inch. Alone, he continued his fight. The machine gun eventually faltered, his assault rifle overheated, cooked and useless. Soon it was hand to hand. There were not many invaders left, at least not in his sector. In his mind, he could still see the four eyes of the last batarian he killed, as he drove the knife into his heart. He thought those would haunt him forever.

He said he was sorry as the batarian died in his arms.

He was unaware that the Alliance relief force had arrived, until they found him alone, sat against the barricade. His borrowed armour was black. He was caked in blood. Most of it was not his own. He didn't let go of the knife, even as soldiers approached, asking if he was okay. He barely heard the question, as he continued to stare straight ahead.

Eventually, Shepard felt hands grab him under his arms, lifting him from the ground. They were saying something, but the only sound he could hear in his ears were the constant screams, either of the invaders, or those of the defenders of Elysium, who had fallen to their deaths. He could see he was being led to an ambulance. They softly lowered him down onto a stretcher. Gently they opened his hand and took away the knife. He could feel the stretcher being lifted and moved.

He looked up at the sky as he was moved along. He wondered if he may die. To be honest with himself, that didn't concern him. Death was always possible in war. He had done his job. And had done it well. He had fought for himself. And had protected the innocent. Good enough, he thought. The sun shone in his eyes, rising above the horizon as another new day dawned. He figured he would probably live, at least for another day. Soon the stretcher on which he lay was placed in the back of a waiting ambulance, the doors closing quietly.

He finally slept.

* * *

_A/N – So there we have the basis of my Shepard character, an Earth-born, war-hero._


	2. Chapter 1 - Beginnings

_A/N – M__ost MShep/Tali relationships have mostly focused on why Tali falls for Shepard (even the game covers that.) Although I will also focus on this, my story, or at least this first prequel, will hopefully cover why Shepard falls for Tali. A lot of it has to do with his character. I had some requests in reviews of 'Promises' asking about that._

_In response to a couple of the reviews from the previous chapter, I don't want to give away too much, but while the eventual romance is that which I mention above, they won't immediately fall head over heels in love for each other. If you've read 'Promises', you know there is chemistry but... well, let's just see, shall we. Drama abounds!_

_Also, from my previous story, aside from the main romance plot, I will also be working on the relationship between Shepard and Anderson. I have my own theory on how the two bonded as friends and will hopefully convey everything you read in my first story through these three prequels._

_Also, if anyone has any ideas that they would like covered, perhaps not in this prequel, but in the other two, then by all means suggest it, either in a review or via PM. I have ideas for how I will develop the story through ME2 / ME3, but if you have any ideas, and I think they will fit, then by all means ask and I'll see what I can do._

_Quite a long authors note, I know, but I just wanted to explain a few things before the story takes off._

_Enjoy!_

_(Thanks for the positive reviews from the prologue too!)_

* * *

_Be the best you can be. Be the best of the best._

Those were the words Shepard had lived by ever since the day he walked through the doors at the Alliance recruiting office on Earth. Granted, he never thought he would be sat where he was now, about to complete his Interplanetary Combatives Training (ICT) course and graduate as an N7 operative.

Very few Alliance soldiers made it all the way to the N7 designation. Just making it into the Special Forces 'N-course' alone was an achievement in itself. Shepard sat there and thought of all the personal sacrifices he had made to get to where he was. He could count true friends on one hand. Relationships with the opposite sex were virtually non-existent. His entire life for the past ten years or so had all been in pursuit of this day.

Basic training had been a breeze. He was surprised at how physically capable he was. He actually enjoyed most of it, pushing himself to the limit and beyond. Running, marching, combat, weights. Even when he was being yelled at by instructors, he simply put his head down and got on with it. Officer training had been something different altogether. And still Shepard breezed through it. He topped all of classes easily. Physically, he dominated his colleagues. His mind was always utterly focused on the objective at hand. The thought always in the back of the mind.

_Be the best you can be._

Shepard looked to his left and right at his fellow N7 graduates. The class had started with 30 recruits. Only 6 remained. Some had washed-out, unable to cope with the pressure. Or were simply not good enough for the programme. Then there were those who failed due to injury. They were unfortunate, but if susceptible in training, then they would be a liability in the field. Then there were the unfortunate one's, who now resided six feet underground, or in caskets floating through space. Shepard didn't think he could possibly go through anything more brutal than N7 training.

Shepard looked back at the stage as Admiral Steve Hackett was finishing up his speech. "You are the finest soldiers of the Alliance, an example to humanity, and the galaxy, of how great the men and women of the Alliance Navy can be. You are an example to your fellow soldiers, and inspiration to your comrades in arms. You are simply the best of the best," he stated, as he stood with his hands at either side of the dais, "It is my pleasure to induct all of you as N7 Operatives, a credit to all your fellow brothers and sisters in uniform. Please step forward as your names are called to receive your officer bars and next assignments."

Shepard stood and walked towards the steps that led onto the stage. The stage was adorned in Alliance colours and symbols. Dark blue with the white insignia of the Alliance. Aside from Hackett, various other officers were sat on stage as introductions were made. Shepard was pleased to see one man on stage he had not expected to see at his induction. He wondered why he was there.

He stood sixth and last in line. He looked quickly out over the audience. Cameras were busy filming their induction, and there were plenty of journalists ready to ask numerous questions. He hoped he would not have to talk to the press. It was something he had dealt with after his time on Elysium and it was an aspect of the job he loathed.

"Commander John Shepard, please step forward," requested Admiral Hackett.

Shepard climbed the steps onto the stage, striding quickly towards the Admiral, hand outstretched. Like usual, he looked over the person in front of him, taking in the important features. A man in his early-50s, his greying hair topped with an Alliance cap. He had clear, hard grey eyes, their gaze utterly focused and unwavering on whoever he spoke to. A prominent nose. A greying goatee surrounded his mouth. A rather large scar crossed his right cheek. He was rather tall, and Shepard could tell he carried a presence, an unspoken resolve.

His respect for the Admiral, on sheer reputation alone, one of only few men to go from enlisted soldier to Admiral, was absolute.

"Congratulations, Commander," said Hackett, first shaking his hand, then placing his new bars on both shoulders.

"Thank you, sir," replied Shepard.

"I have quite the assignment for you, Commander. You come highly recommended for it."

"What would the assignment be, sir?"

"I think I'll let Captain Anderson explain that one."

Shepard raised his eyebrows, turning his head to the right as Anderson stood from his chair and walked over to the pair. The Captain had barely changed since their first meeting in that recruiting office years before. The dark hair was slightly greying, there were one or two more lines on the face. But the intense gaze and focus was still there in the eyes. Anderson was a tall, dark man, at least an inch taller than Shepard. Like Hackett, the man had presence. Shepard had been surprised to see Anderson on the stage at all, but was glad to see him there nonetheless. He and Anderson shook hands as well as Hackett took a step back as the two men conversed.

"Congratulations, Commander. I knew you would do it," said Anderson, a beaming smile on his face.

"Thank you, sir. Your advice throughout all my training was golden, like usual. Helped me get through some of those dark days."

"So I'm sure you'd like to know why I'm here."

"I have to say it was a surprise to see you on stage, sir."

"I've just been made Captain of a very special ship, Commander. An experimental craft. Very hush-hush. Only those in the upper-echelons of the Alliance Navy are aware of its construction. As Captain, I want to surround myself with staff I know and can trust. So what I would like, Commander, is for you to join me on my ship as my Executive Officer (XO)."

Shepard could only grin. "I'd be delighted, sir."

Anderson grinned back. "Excellent, Commander. Before you board, you'll be given 72 hour furlough to tie up any loose ends or, if you want, just sit back and relax after all your training. We already have our first assignment once you are on board."

Shepard had only one question. "What's the name of the ship, sir?"

"The Normandy."

* * *

Arcturus Station.

Home of the Systems Alliance Parliament.

Home of the Fifth Fleet of the Alliance Navy.

Home to approximately 40,000 humans, who served the Alliance, which had spent the past decades spreading its influence through the stars. The building of the station was one of humanity's greatest engineering achievements. Proof that, when humanity puts its mind to it, anything is possible.

Together, in one of the many conference rooms on the station, were three men. Two had significant influence within the Alliance, either the Alliance Parliament or the Alliance Navy. The first, Donnel Udina, human ambassador to the Citadel Council. He sat on one side of the conference table. The second, Admiral Steven Hackett, Commanding Officer of the Alliance Fifth Fleet, one of the most respected and powerful men within the Alliance Navy, sat opposite Udina. And finally, stood at the window, looking out at the bright star of Arcturus, Captain David Anderson, Commanding Officer of the _SSV Normandy_, the newest frigate in the Alliance Navy.

Udina sat with a datapad in his hand, a list of names on the screen. "Okay, so that's nearly all the requests. Now the last name. Commander John William Shepard. Alliance Navy Marine. N7 Special Forces. Anderson, he comes highly recommended, particularly from yourself. I assume you know him well?"

Anderson turned before responding. "On the battlefield, Ambassador, Shepard is unrivalled. We receive constant reports from his superiors about his leadership. Men would follow him into hell, if he asked. He always leads from the front. Some would call it a death wish. I think he's just courageous under fire. He never asks a man or woman to do something he would not do himself. And yet, despite all this, he shows tremendous care for his fellow men and women. Any man or woman under his command shows him undoubted loyalty in return. Already his name is whispered among the enlisted men and women as someone they would choose to emulate."

Udina nodded, taking down notes. "What about on a personal level?"

Anderson grimaced slightly. "He was born on Earth. He's an orphan, from the records we have. No known family otherwise. We've tried tracing them on his behalf, privately, and without his knowledge, but to no avail. He was originally placed in an orphanage but then he spent years on the streets. That made him tough. A survivor. He signed up on his 18th birthday. I happened to be there on the day he walked into the office with the officer in charge of his recruitment. Even at that age, he already had a presence about him. Something in his eyes that burned.

Ambition.

Self-belief.

Confidence.

I spoke with him, after he'd had the initial recruitment interview. The way he spoke and carried himself, I was impressed, considering his life up until then. He talked of becoming an officer. Being the best that he could be. I was impressed. I thought he had what it takes. So I recommended him. He passed basic, and officer training, with flying colours. Top of his class. He was then recruited into the Special Forces program. He has the best test scores of any recruit. Ever.

He was born to be a soldier. A leader. On this alone, I honestly cannot think of a better candidate for the role."

Udina nodded again. "Thanks, Captain. I see from his records that he was also awarded the Star of Terra. I remembered reading that he was on Elysium?"

"He's a hero to the folk of Elysium. A war hero to the people of Earth. He is held in the highest regard by most men and women of the Alliance," explained Hackett, "He was on leave on Elysium, with a few fellow officers. He helped organise and then rallied the defence of the colony. He single-handedly held off an entire platoon of soldiers with just a static machine gun, a borrowed assault rifle, and even hand-to-hand combat at times. We received numerous commendations from survivors, officers, enlisted men and civilians, who witnessed his actions. Given the chance, I think they'd build a statue of the man."

Udina frowned slightly. "He sounds almost too perfect. Is there anything in the closet that we need to be aware of?"

Anderson let out a soft sigh. "There are one or two things, Ambassador. Nothing major, but you need to be aware of the facts. The first is that Shepard admitted to some gang affiliation during his childhood on Earth. He has always assured me it was nothing untoward, merely a means to survive on the streets. But that could come up if someone researched. May lead to some uncomfortable questions."

Udina simply nodded, continuing to write notes. "Anything else?"

"He admits to anger issues. Never had an issue with his fellow soldiers or officers. Never had a reported incident. He was just honest with me when I asked. However, despite caring greatly for any crew under his command, he is what people would probably call a loner. Shepard has always been honest about most things with me, but the one thing that is always hard to gauge is what he is truly thinking or feeling. It's almost like he puts up a wall between himself and everyone else regarding himself, yet he's more than willing to listen to anyone else's problems or stories. Apart from the gang affiliation, Shepard has never really shared much more about his life prior to signing up to serve. And I'm probably one of his closest confidants."

Udina nodded. "Anything else?"

Hackett and Anderson shook their heads.

"Okay, gentlemen, that is the list of candidates. They all have impressive resumes. But, who do you think would be the best name to put forward?" asked Udina.

"Shepard, without a doubt. He's the best soldier the Alliance has. He's a natural leader. He's utterly fearless. Courageous to a fault. He's the best choice we have," replied Anderson.

"I agree. Shepard is the right man," agreed Hackett.

Udina thought for a moment. "Okay, then. I'll make the call."

* * *

Shepard, duffel bag in his right hand, containing all his worldly possessions, that, if he was honest with himself, wasn't all that much, walked down the bright hallways of Arcturus Station, the occasional salute given or received, depending on who walked by. He had left his small room for the final time in preparation for his assignment on the _SSV _Normandy_._ He knew his fellow N7 graduates had already disappeared to various regions of the galaxy.

Every so often he would look through a window on his right. The bright star of Arcturus burned, eerily reminiscent of the sun, though Shepard had never been this close. Closer to his eye, ships of the Alliance Fifth Fleet sat in dock. He could see the _SSV Orizaba_ and _SSV Cape Town_ currently sat silently, but otherwise the docks were relatively quiet.

On and on Shepard walked. He didn't realise Arcturus was so large, though he rarely spent much, if any, time on the station. Eventually Shepard turned another corner, and came to a sealed door, an armed soldier stood to one side. Shepard approached the soldier, who stood at attention and saluted.

"Good morning, sir. May I see your orders please?" requested the soldier.

Shepard dropped his duffel bag to his side before he keyed his omni-tool, transferring the data required to the soldier. "I'm here at the request of Captain Anderson."

The soldier keyed his own omni-tool for a moment before responding. "All seems in order, Commander Shepard. Just one moment, I'll ping the Captain a message so he can meet you on the other side."

The soldier keyed his omni-tool again before he turned around and used a keycard to open the door, before he turned and saluted Shepard again. "There you go, sir."

Shepard returned the salute as he walked through the door. Anderson was stood waiting a few metres away. The two men approached other, a casual salute before a warm handshake. It was a typical docking bay, though there was a flurry of movement as dockworkers scurried about. Anderson gestured towards the window, Shepard turning and walking towards it. He could see a frigate sat silently. It was mostly painted white, with black stripes down the side. SR1 painted in white on either side. The blue glow of the engines at the rear of the ship. Just sat there, it looked of sleek design, and fast. Along the side, the name of the ship written in large, black letters.

NORMANDY.

"Beautiful, isn't she?" asked Anderson, understated awe in his voice, as he stood next to Shepard at the window. Shepard could only nod in agreement as he gazed upon the ship with a slight smile. He had to admit, he was excited about the prospect of being part of the crew.

"Never seen anything like her, sir," replied Shepard.

"You wouldn't have, Shepard. She's one of a kind. Totally experimental. You'll see once we're on board. We've had some help building her. From the turians."

Shepard turned his head and raised an eyebrow. "The turians?"

"Yes. I'll be honest, I've had the turians pegged wrong at times. I'll tell you one thing, Shepard, they know how to build a damn ship. And I'm proud that the Alliance has entrusted me to be her Captain. Come on, we'll get you on board so you can meet the crew."

Taking a last look out the window, Shepard and Anderson walked along the gangway to the decontamination chamber, where they had to wait for a moment prior to entering the vessel. Once through, Shepard was surprised to hear virtual silence, except the slight murmur of voices in discussion. The pair stopped and turned to the left, towards the cockpit.

"That's our pilot. Flight Lieutenant Jeff Moreau. Whatever you do, Shepard, don't call him that. Everyone knows him as 'Joker'. And don't let his demeanour fool you. He might be a sarcastic so-and so, but he's the best pilot in the Alliance."

Joker turned his chair around to look at the pair. "Damn straight, Captain," he said with a smirk, "You couldn't have picked a better pilot."

"Didn't have much choice after your little stunt, did I?" replied Anderson.

"I couldn't very well let someone completely unqualified go and test it now, could I, Captain?"

Anderson barked a laughed in response. "How's the ship, Joker?"

"Ready to go as soon as you give the order, sir."

Anderson nodded and gestured for Shepard to follow him. They stopped as they entered what appeared to be the command centre. It was completely different to what Shepard was expecting. Anderson looked at Shepard and noted his surprise.

"Based on turian design, Shepard. Already I can tell you this is a far more effective method of running an Alliance ship. From that platform," he said, pointing to an elevated surface near the galaxy map, "I can relay orders to everyone necessary. If there is one thing we can take from this ship, it's that the Command Centre of every Alliance ship must be designed like this. It just makes everything far more efficient."

Shepard nodded his head in agreement.

"Come on, I'll show you downstairs. I remember our discussions about your love for ships."

Shepard could only grin. He didn't always understand the technology of Alliance vessels, but he'd always found it fascinating. The pair walked down a set of stairs and walked into the mess first. Shepard stowed away his gear in one of the lockers, with Anderson pointing out the sleeping and medical bays, before they headed to the elevator. Slowly it descended, before they arrived in the armoury and vehicle bay.

"The Normandy has a Mako? I love those things!" asked Shepard.

Anderson chuckled in surprise. "Really, Shepard? Everyone I know hates using those machines. Call them unresponsive."

"You just have to know how to drive them, sir," replied Shepard with a smug grin.

Anderson just shook his head, stifling laughter, as the pair walked into engineering. As they entered, Shepard had to admit his breath was taken away by the drive core. He'd never seen anything like it. It glowed slightly and gave off a slight hum, but other than that, engineering was surprisingly quiet. The entire ship was quiet, if he was honest.

"The Tantalus drive core, Shepard. Completely experimental design. This small, glowing little ball gives us tremendous power, plus it has been designed in conjunction with the ship to effectively allow us to run silently. I won't try and explain it all, I barely understand it myself. Chief Engineer Adams will be able to explain it far better than I can if you have questions."

Shepard could only nod in silence. He wasn't technologically gifted at all, he knew basic mechanics, as most N-operatives had to be, but something like this left him nothing less than impressed. And in awe. "I'll pop down later and have a chat. I don't always understand what I'm being told but I always find it interesting," said Shepard.

Anderson nodded, before gesturing to Shepard to resume following. "We'll head back upstairs and I'll fill you in on what's happening. We're taking the Normandy for a shake-down run. Plus we're going to have a guest on board for a while."

"Who, sir?"

Anderson motioned for Shepard to wait for his answer as the pair walked off the elevator and into Anderson's quarters. Anderson took a seat at his desk, motioning for Shepard to take the spare seat available.

"He's a Spectre. A turian by the name of Nihlus. Don't worry, I know you wouldn't have heard of him."

Shepard was slightly perplexed. "Why is a Spectre joining us on a shake-down run?"

"I assume you know of the Spectres and who they work for?"

"I'm vaguely aware of what they do. I know most of it is classified as they work on behalf of the Council."

"I'll level with you, Shepard. Humanity is looking to get a human into the Spectres. If humanity can achieve Spectre status, it could be the first step towards having a human Councillor on the Citadel Council itself."

Shepard raised an eyebrow in surprise. "That quickly? I like to think I know my history, but in the grand scheme, we've only just arrived on the galactic scene, sir."

"While that is true, Shepard, the Council races have been somewhat impressed with humanity's strides since our arrival. We've gone out there and we get things done. We're busy colonising parts of the galaxy the rest fear to tread. We've proven more than capable of holding our own against the Council's largest force in the turians. The other two members of the Council have a certain amount of respect for us, or at least I seem to think so."

Shepard thought for a moment. "Okay, humanity wants a Spectre. I assume that's why Nihlus is joining us then?"

"Indeed, Shepard. And we have the perfect candidate," replied Anderson, looking directly at Shepard, whose eyes widened slightly as he gathered as to who Anderson was referring.

"Me?" he replied, slightly incredulous, "But I've only just graduated as an N7?"

Anderson gave a slight grin. "Always so modest, Shepard. But I'll tell you something. Your nomination was discussed at the highest levels. Admiral Hackett and Ambassador Udina both signed off on your nomination. I'll be honest, Shepard – the Alliance see you as a hero, particularly after what happened on Elysium. Your scores during your N7 training were the highest of any recruit. You've already seen plenty of action around parts of the galaxy and the brass like what they see.

Honestly, Shepard, based on your service record alone, you are the perfect candidate."

Shepard was somewhat speechless and could only give a simple nod to Anderson's words. He turned to pick up a datapad, casting an eye over it before looking back at Shepard.

"Ever heard of Eden Prime, Shepard?"

Shepard thought for a moment. "The name is familiar, sir, though I don't believe I've ever been there. From what I've read, the Alliance like to use it as a beacon of humanity's progression in the galaxy. One of our first human colonies, right?"

Anderson nodded. "Indeed it was. It's mostly an agrarian society as the colony produce much of the food for numerous other colonies in and out of the Terminus. People have been immigrating in droves ever since the colony was first established. It's effectively an Earth, version 2. It's quite the idyllic paradise, if the adverts are to be believed."

"So we're going on a shake-down run with a turian Spectre to Eden Prime. I'm inclined to ask why, sir?"

"What do you know of the Protheans, Shepard?"

The question took Shepard by surprise. Most people had at least heard of the Protheans. It was the discovery of their data that had led to the discoveries of mass effects, the mass relays and their discovery of the galaxy at large.

"I know a little bit, sir, like everyone else."

"Right, long story short, Shepard, is that the local population found a Prothean beacon. We don't know what it is or what information it may contain. What we do know is that some scientists are there now looking into it, but what we need to do is go pick it up and take it back to the Council. We're looking to depart for Eden Prime within the next 48 hours."

Shepard gave a brief nod. "Okay, sir."

* * *

Shepard was in one of the bathrooms, towelling off his face. The ship was flying through the Sol System, en route to the relays that would eventually connect them to Eden Prime. He looked up into the mirror in front of him to check himself. Piercing blue eyes looked back at him, his dark hair kept short, regulation style. He was clean shaven for the moment, but would usually have 'designer stubble'. Anderson preferred the clean shaven look, so Shepard acquiesced to what Anderson wanted. Otherwise, he thought his face already had a slightly hard edge, having lived a tough life, first on the streets, then years as a soldier.

He had spoken to Nihlus, the turian Spectre, who was currently on board the _Normandy_. He was now fully aware of the expectations placed on his shoulders as the first possible human Spectre. He was pleased that Anderson was so confident in his own abilities. If Shepard was honest with himself, the one place where he felt unbelievably confident, and almost at home, was on the battlefield.

He has spent his first days on board getting to know some of the crew. He found Joker slightly abrasive, wondering where he had even gained the name, considering most of his comments were sarcastic rather than funny. He had spoken with Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko and found him to be a softly-spoken and intense young man, but he was friendly, and also a biotic, which perked Shepard's interests, as he had little do with anyone with biotic talents during his own training. Then there was Doctor Chakwas, who had given Shepard a quick physical to make sure he was fit and healthy before his first mission. He found her to be almost… motherly.

He liked Chakwas immediately.

"Shepard, you presence is requested in the communications room. The Captain and Spectre are both there waiting," requested Joker over the comm.

"Thanks, Joker," replied Shepard, placing the towel on one of the available rails before heading to the comm. room. He walked up the stairs, passing the occasional enlisted man, who would stop and snap a quick salute, Shepard nodding or snapping a lazy salute in return. He walked into the comm. room where Anderson and Nihlus were stood in conversation.

"Shepard," started Anderson, "Glad you're here. We've just received some disturbing images. Joker, play back what we just received."

The three men turned to watch the screen. They could see a squad of soldiers' busy firing at unseen enemies. One of the soldiers broke ranks and ran towards the camera, appearing to shout something, before turning the camera towards what they were shooting at. Out of the clouds appeared a giant alien-looking ship, descending to the planets' surface. The picture then became shaky and eventually switched off altogether.

_What on earth was that?_

Anderson turned to Shepard. "We need boots on the ground now, Shepard. You have one objective – secure that beacon! Nihlus will be on the ground with you, but this is your operation. Do what you do best, Commander."

Shepard nodded. "Aye, sir."


	3. Chapter 2 - The Beacon

The Beacon

_A/N – My first story didn't haven't had much in the way of action. This is my first chapter almost dedicated purely to combat. Never written any combat-based stories before, so bear with me for the time being, as I develop ideas of how the battlefield would work with a team of five. Most of it will simply be based on how I actually play the game._

_As I said at the end of 'Promises', I was going right back to the beginning. Eden Prime. This is where it becomes slightly difficult to be truly original. I've done my best going forward!_

* * *

"Perimeter secure, Commander."

"Confirmed, Lieutenant."

Shepard had his rifle up, surveying the landscape. Eden Prime looked like it was your typical garden world, exactly what it would say on the brochure. It was easy to see why the Alliance, and humanity, were eager to colonise it. Lush forests, an abundance of drinking water for humans, animals and irrigation, arable land that was perfect for crops. And plenty of space for expansion. But, according to what he could see, there was no-one around. Nodding to himself, he walked over to the edge of a nearby cliff, Alenko and Jenkins joining him at his side.

Eden Prime was certainly beautiful. In the near distance were forests, trees reaching to the sky as the sounds of animals echoed around. Lakes of water glistened in the sunlight. In the far distance, Shepard could see human settlements. He grimaced slightly as he could see the occasional spire of smoke rising. Other than that, though, all was eerily quiet.

Shepard turned to the young Corporal stood to his side. "Alright, let's move out. Jenkins, take point. Stay alert."

"Aye, sir," answered Jenkins, as he started walking, rifle still up, surveying what was ahead of him.

The three soldiers moved out, Jenkins in front, with Shepard and Alenko to his left and right, a couple of metres behind. They had only walked a few dozen metres when they came across their first bodies. They were charred. Probably human, given that they were on a human colony world, but almost unrecognisable otherwise. Certainly beyond identifiable.

"My God, who, or what, could have done that?" wondered Alenko, voice quiet.

Shepard turned towards Jenkins, who removed his helmet, bent over and vomited out whatever he had for breakfast that morning. Shepard walked over and placed a hand lightly on his back.

"Okay, marine?"

"Yes… yes, sir," answered Jenkins with a shaky voice, "I'm sorry, sir. I've just never… I've never seen anything like it before."

"No need to apologise, Jenkins. Unfortunately, though, you become acclimatised to things like this."

Jenkins shook slightly at the thought. He stood up straight and took a gulp of water from his canteen, then replaced his helmet. "All good, Commander. Thanks," he said with a slight grin, but looking rather pale.

Shepard nodded, before looking down the bodies, his eyes betraying only on emotion.

Anger.

"I don't know what could have done this to them, but I intend to find out." Shepard then sighed, "But there's nothing we can do for them now. Come on, let's go. Move out."

Before moving out, Shepard's earpiece crackled.

"Commander, it's Nihlus. Things are looking grim here. No survivors so far. Just a lot of bodies. I'm making my way to the dig site. Keep going, I'll meet you there."

Shepard didn't respond, intending to keep radio silence, as Nihlus had requested before he had departed the ship. With a flick of the wrist, to indicate which direction, Jenkins took point again, as the three slowly made their way towards a large, open field, though littered with large boulders. Shepard called the squad to a halt. The three crouched behind one of the large boulders, Shepard taking a quick peek over the edge at the layout ahead. He didn't like it, far too many places for a possible ambush. Shepard then laid a hand on Jenkins shoulder before issuing his order.

"Okay, Jenkins, easy does it now. Move forward quickly, try and stay in cover."

"Aye, sir," answered Jenkins, as he made to move out.

Jenkins slowly edged out from cover and had barely walked three paces, when three geth drones flew out from cover of their own from further up the field. They started firing at the young Corporal, who stood still, seemingly paralyzed in fear. Shepard's eyes widened as he saw Jenkins start taking bullets, his shields and armour starting to falter.

"Jenkins! Get down!" yelled Shepard, as he stood and ran towards Jenkins, tackling him to the ground, and both rolled behind another boulder. He looked back at Alenko, giving a quick nod, as Alenko started firing at the drones. Shepard took one look down at Jenkins before he started returning fire of his own. A couple of bursts from his assault rifle, and a pistol crack from Alenko, and the three drones were exploded into small parts.

Shepard looked down at Jenkins again. He could see his chest was still rising and falling as he kneeled down beside the wounded soldier. He could see his eyes were open. He was whispering something to himself that Shepard couldn't quite understand.

"LT! Over here. Now!"

Alenko ran over and kneeled down to the other side of Jenkin's body. He gave Shepard a look of concern but didn't say anything. They carefully removed Jenkins' helmet and the armour across his chest. There were at least two wounds going in. There was a lot of blood. Alenko started applying medi-gel to his wounds, while Shepard simply held the young marines hand, trying to keep him calm.

"Stay with me Jenkins. You're not going anywhere, soldier."

Jenkins looked up at Shepard. He could see the fear in the young marine's eyes, the shimmer of tears, as the young Corporal gave a brief nod, his face grimacing in pain.

Shepard tried to smile. "Come on, Jenkins. You're going home, soldier, you're going home. Where is home?"

Jenkins coughed and spluttered. "Earth, sir."

"Yeah, I'm from Earth too. Where are you from?"

Jenkins coughed again. His voice full of pain. "North America, sir. The south-west. I'm a farm boy."

Shepard gave a small grin. "You're not a cowboy are you, Jenkins?"

That made the young marine give a small laugh, laced with pain. "No, sir. Though I know how to ride a horse. Not much use for that as a marine though," he finished with another cough, a look of pain once again spreading across his face again.

Alenko looked up at Shepard. "I've done what I can, Commander. But he needs a doctor ASAP."

Shepard put his other hand to his ear. "Joker, this is Shepard. We need a med-evac right now."

"Sir, I'm not sure…"

"Joker, that's an order. Ping my position through my omni-tool. Send a medic and stretcher bearers. Now."

"Aye, sir."

Shepard and Alenko stayed with the young marine, Shepard continuing to hold his hand and talk to him. Alenko watched on, feeling helpless. Jenkins looked likely to pass out once or twice. Shepard lightly slapped his face a few times.

"Stay with me, Jenkins. Don't you dare try and fall asleep. You are not dying on me. You understand, marine?"

Jenkins lifted his head, and looked at Shepard again. Tried to mumble something. Took a deep breath. "Understood, sir," he said through gritted teeth.

After what felt a lifetime, Shepard and Alenko heard the _Normandy_ land nearby. Together, they lifted Jenkins, one of his arms around their necks, and slowly they walked towards the sound of the ship, as a medic and two other marines, carrying a stretcher, appeared round a corner. The two men put the stretcher on the ground, onto which Alenko and Shepard placed the young Corporal. The medic immediately went to work, as the two marines lifted the stretcher and started making their way to the _Normandy._

Shepard sighed as he watched the _Normandy_ take off once again. This was not the way he wanted to start his mission.

"Right, Lieutenant, we still have a mission to complete. Move out."

The pair moved out slowly, weapons at the ready, more of the enemy guaranteed. More geth drones were dealt with by the pair as they continued to make their way through a wooded area towards the beacon site. It was nothing too troubling for the two experienced soldiers. Shepard could now feel the anger coursing through his veins. He had an injured marine, who was no more than a kid, and was being significantly delayed to his objective.

The pair had just eliminated a pair of geth drones when, in their peripheral vision, they noticed someone running towards them. A human, who had two Geth Troopers chasing them, firing their weapons relatively haphazardly, with little chance of actually hitting the moving target, and certainly no chance of actually take the human down.

_That looks like one of the soldiers from the video I saw on the Normandy._

Shepard's vision was then taken by two further Geth Troopers, who appeared to have another human, whom Shepard could only assume was a colonist, on some sort of steel spike. To the horror of he and Alenko, the steel spike impaled the human colonist. What was left behind is something which Shepard can simply find no words in his mind to describe.

"What the fuck?" Shepard muttered.

Shepard and Alenko ran and joined the human soldier behind a large boulder. Without a word, and staying in cover, they returned fire at the Geth Troopers, and the husk, the creature left as the result of the colonist impaled on the spike. The Geth Troopers didn't seem particularly intelligent, and were dealt with quite quickly, assault rifle bursts from Shepard and the other soldier, while Alenko was able to overload one of the other Geth Troopers, before taking the geth down with a pistol.

With the last geth eliminated, Shepard finally released the deep breath he'd been holding in. "Clear!" he called out. The sounds of weapons retracting and being stowed followed.

Shepard took a knee behind the boulder, motioning to the other two to follow suit. He removed his helmet, wiping the sweat from his forehead with a gloved hand. He looked across at the obviously female human. She was dressed in light armour, helmet still fixed in place, sucking in deep breaths, the adrenaline wearing off.

"How are you?" asked Shepard.

"I'm fine, sir. Thanks. You guys really saved my bacon," she replied, removing her helmet.

Shepard looked her over. The female soldier appeared unharmed. She had short, dark brown hair, brown eyes, cute nose, full lips. She had an attractive quality, thought Shepard. He looked across at Alenko, who was transfixed, though desperately trying not to show it, by looking anywhere but at the female soldier. His eyes, though, were looking her over very closely.

"Any injuries?" asked Shepard.

"No, sir. My shields took a couple of good hits while I was trying to escape, but nothing got through."

"Good. Well, suppose we should make introductions. I'm Commander Shepard, this fine gentleman to the right of me is Lieutenant Alenko. We're both from the _SSV Normandy_."

"Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams of the 212, sir. Pleased to meet you," replied Williams, as she gave a salute.

Kaidan just looked at Shepard. "Fine gentleman, sir?"

Shepard just grinned back at Alenko, before looking back to Williams, giving her a nod.

"Good to meet you, Williams. Okay, we need an update. What are the 212 doing on Eden Prime? What do you know about these geth? And what about this beacon?"

"The 212 are based on Eden Prime protecting the colony. But we're a colonial backwater. We barely have to be even concerned with pirates or slaves. It's usually peaceful and quiet. It has been very busy, though, once they found that beacon. Once the scientists started arriving, we were effectively baby-sitting. As for the geth, they… just… over-ran us, sir."

"Where's the beacon now?"

"Just down the hill," answered Williams, thumbing in the direction behind her from which she had originally been running.

"Right, well that's our next stop. We need to find that beacon. And fast."

_Shit, this is definitely not going to plan. What the hell are geth doing here?_

"Okay then, come with us, Williams. We could use your help. I'll take point. You two, stay alert and watch your six. There are bound to be more geth about."

"Aye, sir," responded the pair in unison.

"Okay, let's move out."

Weapons at the ready, the three carefully moved down the hill, eyes scanning the horizon for any contacts. The three had barely walked a couple of hundred metres when the already too familiar clicks and whirs of geth entered their ears, and battle commenced again.

"Take cover. Check your targets!" shouted Shepard, as he ran to crouch behind a boulder.

The three unleashed a rain of bullets upon a couple of Geth Troopers, which were quickly wiped out. One Geth Trooper had taken cover behind a wall, which was dealt with by Alenko, an overload and a couple of shots from his pistol eliminating the final enemy. Shepard scanned the area again before standing up from cover.

"Okay, we're clear."

With weapons stored on their backs, the three continued walking down and into the dig site.

"Hang on, Commander, something isn't right. The beacon is gone," Williams pointing to an empty spot on the ground as she spoke.

"Any idea who moved it?"

"Could only have been the geth, I guess. Though what concerns me is that all the scientists have disappeared. But where are the bodies?"

_Shit. What more can go wrong?_

Shepard's ear-piece crackled. "Shepard, Nihlus. Change of plans. I'm heading to a small spaceport to investigate. I'll meet you there."

Shepard stood for a moment, thinking. What could be at the spaceport? Perhaps the beacon? Another concern was the missing scientists. He really didn't want to find more bodies like they had when they had landed. Williams and Alenko were stood waiting for his instructions.

"Right, let's move out. Our main objective is the beacon. However, if we can locate any scientists or survivors, that will be a bonus."

"Aye, sir," replied his two colleagues, as they moved out.

* * *

_Now we're well and truly fucked._

Shepard looked down at the body of Nihlus. He had clearly been executed. Shot in the back of the head. Blue blood was leaking out of the wound, pooling onto the ground. Whoever had got the drop on Nihlus was long gone, and there was still no sign of the beacon.

Alenko and Williams were busy searching the area. They had already found a couple of scientists and a few survivors from the colony, who were now secured in a building behind them, but that had been the only good news of this mission so far. The ship that Shepard had seen earlier on the _Normandy_ had been seen taking off, so at least that was no longer in the picture, though Shepard had no idea if it was a geth ship, or something far more sinister.

Shepard's thoughts were interrupted by a cough. He looked up to where the sound had come from. He couldn't see anyone, only piles of boxes and crates. He pulled his pistol from his side, as he searched with his eyes, his pistol pointed at where the sound had originated from.

"Who's there?" he called.

No response. Shepard's eyes continued to search for the location of the cough.

"You've got until the count of 3 to show yourself, otherwise I come round there, and you don't want to know the result of what will happen then."

No response.

"One."

No response.

"Two."

Shepard made to move.

"Okay. Okay. Don't shoot. Please."

A man stood up from behind a stack of crates, arms raised. He looked scared. Literally shaking to his boots. Shepard lowered his pistol and holstered it. The man was clearly not a threat and there was no point scaring him. But he may have information. Williams and Alenko joined Shepard as he started to question the man.

"Who are you?"

"I'm just a dockworker. Name's Powell. I've been hiding ever since those… robots showed up."

"They're geth."

"Geth? What are the geth doing on Eden Prime? Jesus…"

"Don't worry about the geth. What can you tell me about Nihlus?" asked Shepard, as he gestured towards the dead Spectre.

"Another turian killed him. Nihlus, was that his name? He appeared to know this other turian. Called him Saren. That's who shot him. Right in the back of the head. Cold blood. That's when I hid. The geth were killing everyone else."

_Saren? Why does that name sound familiar…?_

"Do you know where the beacon is?" asked Williams.

"The geth took it, down to the train," explained the man, pointing to his right, "After that, I don't know. But there are surely more geth down that way."

"Okay, thanks for the information. We've located some other survivors back that way. Go link up with them and we'll get you evacuated," suggested Shepard, gesturing behind him.

"If you don't mind, I think I'll just wait here for the time being."

Shepard just shrugged his shoulders. He'd take care of the geth anyway. Powell should be okay until help arrived.

"Okay, Williams, Alenko. Move out. We've got to find that beacon."

Unhitching their weapons again, the three made their way towards the catwalk that would lead them to the train. A pair of Geth Troopers were easily dealt with while on the catwalk, assault rifle fire from Shepard and Williams easily knocking them out of action. But things were looking interesting in regards to taking the train. The three slowly moved into cover, ensuring they could not be seen. Shepard peered over the ledge of what he was hiding behind. He could make out plenty of Geth Troopers, but it was the large Geth Destroyer that concerned him. The three ran down the catwalk onto the train, where Shepard made a signal to halt, and another signal to get into cover.

Talking quietly, he quickly explained his plan. "Right, we need to eliminate that big fucker first." Shepard looked up, to see the destroyer slowly walking towards their position. "Williams, you and I are going to unleash hell on him. Alenko, use your biotics and tech to keep him away. Whatever the case, we do not let that large bastard near us. Understand?"

"Aye, sir," answered the pair in unison.

Shepard and Williams made to kneel behind the barrier, and with weapons raised, started firing at the Geth Destroyer.

"Make sure you don't overhead that weapon, Williams," ordered Shepard.

Williams could only give what Shepard assumed was a firm nod in reply.

The Geth Destroyer walked faster and faster towards their position, continuously firing its own weapon. Alenko was firing with his pistol, but little damage was done. Bullets riddled the platform, but it continued its inexorable movement towards their position.

"Now!" commanded Shepard.

Alenko stood, shimmered in blue light and quickly unleashed a biotic attack at the destroyer, before returning to cover. The platform was staggered and pushed back, further away from their position.

"Williams, Alenko. Keep firing! We need to take that fucker out!"

Shepard kept up his own fire, careful to make sure his weapon didn't overheat, though his shields were starting to take some hits, from both the Geth Destroyer, and the Geth Troopers, who remained in cover far behind. He unhooked a grenade from his belt, let it cook in his hand, and threw it at the destroyer. A few seconds later, the grenade exploded, right underneath the feet of the Geth Destroyer. The destroyer was now starting to spark and slow, its body clearly damaged. All three kept up their fire and soon the destroyer fell to the ground, completely non-functional. The fun was not over, however. There were still plenty of Geth Troopers requiring their attention.

"Williams, how are you with a sniper rifle?" asked Shepard.

"Trained, sir. I'm a pretty good shot."

"Right, I really don't feel like running from cover to cover down there, trying to eliminate these other geth. We'll take up positions here. Track your targets, then take it out. Maintain accuracy, Williams, and watch your shields." Williams nodded. "Alenko, we'll keep you covered. See if you can get in closer. When close enough, use your tech or biotics. Watch your shields. See if you can get them out of cover. We'll keep them pinned. Don't worry."

"Aye, sir," answered Alenko, as he bent down, ready to move to the next cover. Shepard and Williams pulled their sniper rifles from their backs and checked for targets. Rifles cracked as eye-sights found targets, and Shepard noticed Alenko quickly, but carefully, moving from cover to cover, whenever a shot was fired. After a few shots, each of which had taken a target, Shepard stowed his rifle, indicating Williams to follow suit, and, while taking out their assault rifles once again, they made their way carefully to Alenko's position.

"Only one left, sir," explained Alenko, as they joined him in cover further down the walkway.

"Well, take it out then, Lieutenant," answered Shepard, with a slight smirk.

"Aye, sir," replied Alenko, with a smirk of his own, as he stood and used another tech burst on the hidden Geth Trooper, who staggered and soon found a number of bullets embedded in it, before collapsing to the ground.

"Good stuff, Lieutenant," stated Shepard, "Now, I think it's about time we found that bloody beacon."

* * *

_Why can't anything just be easy?_

The last Geth Trooper fell to the ground and Shepard, Alenko and Williams moved out from cover.

"Secure the area, see if there's anything worth salvaging to take back to the ship," ordered Shepard, as he again removed his helmet, mopping his brow with the back of his hand. The train ride to the second station has been uneventful, but the disarming of four bombs, under the harassment of numerous geth, and also husks, was anything but fun.

Thankfully Alenko's technical abilities meant that Shepard and Williams could protect the Lieutenant while he worked, but it was a long and difficult struggle. Shepard's and Williams' shields had taken an absolute hammering but all three remained relatively unharmed, though were now exhausted. Alenko and Williams returned to Shepard, nodding that no enemies remains and there wasn't anything particularly worth salvaging. Williams started applying medi-gel to an arm wound, but otherwise she was okay, though had a slightly dazed look in her eyes. Shepard recognised that look. He'd seen it in his own eyes once before. He knew it would have to be dealt with later.

Shepard put a hand to his ear. "Joker, this is Shepard. We've located the beacon. We need pick-up."

"Aye, sir. ETA for pick-up. Five minutes."

Shepard and Alenko stood chatting, while Williams walked towards the beacon, seemingly almost drawn to it. Shepard was keeping an eye on her and moved quickly as he noticed Williams being dragged towards it against her will. Shepard grabbed Williams and threw her to the side, Alenko taking hold of her. Shepard felt himself drawn towards the beacon, unable to escape its power. Suddenly he felt himself lifted up and his mind flooded with images.

_War._

_Death._

_Defeat._

_Destruction._

_Annihilation._

_Extinction._

And then all was dark.

* * *

_A/N – Jenkins was saved! It's primarily the only reason why I've written this chapter, as I notice most stories don't really cover Eden Prime. But on every play-through, I have to watch the poor, young bastard die within the first few minutes. My story, I'm changing it for once! I'll now have to see what happens with him… I have one idea of what to do with him, though that won't happen until the 2__nd__ prequel._


	4. Chapter 3 - On the Run

_A/N – I'll be honest with myself and my readers. I think the prologue and first chapter were quite good, but I was never really happy with my last chapter, but as I said, I only included it to save Jenkins. I may even re-write it and put up a different version (but that will be later). However, I think my standard picks up again going forward. Hopefully you enjoy the next few chapters, as they focus on other characters, before resuming the Shepard POV._

* * *

The darkness was impenetrable. The cold chilled to the bone as the cargo bay had next to no heat. The only sounds, apart from the heartbeat echoing in her ears, the steady breathing as she tried to keep calm, were the dull roar of the engines of the turian cruiser on which she was currently stowed away. The lights had been switched off not long after departure from Illium. She was glad she was not claustrophobic; otherwise she would have been driven mad. The dark thoughts currently flowing through her mind were bad enough. The thoughts of friends and allies already lost, of being found where she was currently sat, hidden away in the confines of the ship, of dying, afraid and alone, far away from home.

Tali'Zorah nar Rayya had to admit that she was slightly frightened. She did not frighten easily, she thought was she was brave, but her Pilgrimage had been one disaster after another since she had departed the _Rayya_ just over a month ago. Months of preparation and training for her journey – weapons training and first-aid being the most important - verged on being all for nothing. She knew she could not return empty-handed. It would be embarrassing for herself. But that would compare nothing of the embarrassment it would bring her father. The expectation on her shoulders, of returning with a grand prize for the fleet, was almost overwhelming.

Like most quarians, Tali had been excited prior to her departure of Pilgrimage. It was a rite of passage for all young quarians and was an event she had been looking forward to for years. She had grown up almost exclusively on the _Rayya_. It was where she had first shown signs of near-genius regarding anything mechanical. From an early age, she was down in the bowels of the ship, helping repair the creaking vessel, crawling through vents to get to the inaccessible areas that others could not reach. She had enjoyed working on ships from an early age, of proving herself to her ship-mates. Mostly she spent nearly every day trying to make her father proud.

Tali grimaced in the darkness at the thought of her father. Her father, one of five Admirals of the Migrant Fleet, was a distant man. Tali had lost her mother a few years previously to an accident, leaving her alone with her father, who had no idea how to raise a child. Since her mother's death, her father became more distant, throwing himself into his work while heaping more and more pressure on her shoulders. Nothing ever seemed to make him happy. Tali could pass every test during her education with flying colours and it never seemed to be enough. She loved her father deeply, as any child does, and she did everything she could to make him happy, to at least gain his respect as a member of the fleet, but the constant veiled criticism and lack of appreciation for everything she did for him, and the fleet, left her almost glad to depart the _Rayya_.

_I still miss him, though, despite everything. I'll make him proud in the end._

The thought concerning Tali most, though, was of being alone. Quarians were not solitary people. Even on Pilgrimage, quarians would usually depart together before eventually splitting once they had arrived at a city to start working. Ships back in the Migrant Fleet were usually full to bursting with people. 17 million spread across at least 50,000 ships. The _Rayya_ was one of the larger ships of the fleet, thousands of quarians spread across the numerous decks. Tali always thought this was how a city must feel, the constant stream of people coming and going, the roar of conversation usually louder than the engines that powered the fleet across the galaxy. There was next to no privacy on a quarian vessel. Everything was shared as space was at a premium.

Her train of thoughts in the darkness were broken as she could feel the vessel starting to slow and the lights suddenly flicked on, blinding her momentarily as she blinked her eyes rapidly, adjusting to the light. She had no idea where the vessel had been heading. She had stowed away on the first vessel she could find as she tried to escape the mercenaries who had been chasing her across Illium. She knew why they were chasing her. The information currently sat on her omni-tool was of immense value. Any information regarding the geth was a sought after commodity. She had listened to the information she had found and was disturbed by its contents.

_I wonder where we are. Hopefully somewhere safe…_

The vessel shuddered slightly as Tali figured the vessel had finally come to a stop, the usual sounds of clamps attaching to the vessel suggesting the vessel had docked. Tali sat up slightly and peered over the crates behind which she was currently hidden. She noticed a couple of turians make their way down a steel ladder and towards the back of the vessel, chatting quietly between them. She couldn't quite make out what they were saying. Further light started to filter into the cargo hold as the bay door started up, lowering slowly, and the sounds of the docking bay filtering through the ever-increasing gap. Tali continued to peer over the crate, trying to figure out where she was.

Footsteps echoed off the steel ladders behind her, Tali ducking her head again as more of the crew started to make their way off the vessel. She could hear conversation and laughter fading into the distance, Tali chancing another peek as the crew manoeuvred their way through the stacks of crates, down the ramp and onto the docking bay itself. The cargo hold was once again silent.

Tali sat and waited for a few more minutes before peeking once again. There appeared to be no-one around. With a deep breath, Tali stood, stretching as she did, having been sat in the same position for hours on end. Slowly she started to walk past the high stacks of crates in the cargo bay, stopping at the edge of each section, peeking round corners to ensure the coast was clear. Soon the crates stopped and there was clear space between herself and the docking bay ahead. Just as she was about to step out and run for it, a hand grabbed her by a shoulder.

"And just who the hell are you?" asked the voice, while turning her around.

Tali looked up to see a turian face looking back down at her. He looked angry, eyes burrowing into the glowing eyes looking back at him. Tali knew she was done for.

"Nobody. I'm nobody," answered Tali.

"Suit-rat more like it. So, come on, be honest, what have you stolen?"

Tali sighed. She was already used to the name. She had been warned prior to leaving the fleet that quarians were looked down upon as nothing more than thieves and vagrants by most others races in the galaxy.

"I haven't stolen anything. I stowed away to escape Illium. Where are we?" she asked the turian.

"The Citadel. Now, you're going to come with me. I'm handing your troublesome ass over to C-Sec."

_The Citadel? Maybe I could take this to the Council._

Tali didn't bother fighting or trying to get away. She was alone and had nowhere to go. The turian turned her around and pushed her away and out of the back of the ship. The bay was busy, Tali looking left and right as she could see a number of ships docked, workers walking to and from each ship, dragging crates of goods onto the bay floor. The turian continued to push Tali in the back as they walked towards the exit, Tali contemplating running for it, until she saw two security officers guarding the door.

"Who have we here, Theris?" asked one of the guards.

"Stowaway," replied Theris, "I'm taking her to C-Sec. They can deal with her."

The two guards nodded, one of them turning around and keying a number into the keypad. The door opened in front of the pair, Theris pushing Tali in the back again, urging her to move forward.

"Perhaps we can work out a deal?" asked Tali as they walked down the hallway.

Theris laughed. "And what do you have to offer me, suit-rat?"

Tali stayed silent. There was nothing she could offer. It was an offer of desperation. The pair eventually came to an elevator, the door opening immediately and the two stepped on.

"You should count yourself lucky, suit-rat. If I'd found you en route, I'd have thrown you out the airlock. If there is one thing we ship captains hate, it is a stowaway," stated Theris. Tali gulped at the thought.

The elevator soon stopped its ascent, the doors opening Theris once again pushing Tali forward and out into the office Citadel Security. The pair ascended another set of stairs before turning into a corner office, where another turian was sat behind a desk, looking up at the pair entered the room.

"Theris. Surprised to see you here." The turian then looked at Tali. "And who do we have here?"

"Stowaway, Chellick. Found her just a few minutes ago trying to get off my ship. As far as I'm concerned, now that she's on the Citadel, she's your problem now."

Chellick nodded his head. "Fair enough, Theris. We'll sort it out from here."

Tali turned around to see Theris nod, turn and walk out of the room, before returning her attention to the officer in front of her.

"So, suit-rat, a stowaway and likely a vagrant. I should run you in right now and kick you off the station."

Tali thought quickly. "Listen, I have vital information that I need to present to the Council. I need to gain an audience with them as soon as possible. The reason I stowed away on that ship is because people were trying to kill me back on Illium."

Chellick sat quiet for a moment before bursting into laughter. "You suit-rats, you really can't help yourselves, can you? You'll tell us anything to avoid getting into trouble."

"I'm telling the truth!"

Chellick waved a hand in dismissal while still chuckling. "Oh, I'm sure you are." Chellick then took a deep breath, stopped laughing and leant forward, resting his elbows on his desk, looking directly into Tali's eyes. "Now listen well, suit-rat. We don't like the fact your kind is welcome on the Citadel, but we have to put up with you coming here and messing up the place. So, here's the deal. You have 24 hours to get off the Citadel. If any of my men find you on the Citadel after that time, you will be dealt with. Understand?"

Tali sighed and nodded her head. Her options were thinning already.

"Good, now get the hell out of here before I change my mind and throw you off the Citadel now."

Tali stood up and walked out of the office and back down the stairs into the foyer. She approached the information board to ascertain where on the Citadel she was. She ran her finger up and down the board until she found what she was looking for. Tali walked and boarded another elevator and descended into the wards. It was an area she had been told about, prior to leaving on her Pilgrimage, by others who had completed theirs. Chellick's words about quarians not being welcomed settled in her mind, but she had been told that there were still plenty of quarians living and working on the Citadel. But, like anywhere in the galaxy, apart from the fleet, their lives were made incredibly difficult by authorities.

Tali stepped out of the elevator into a large open area and walked towards a viewing platform. She stood there for a few moments, collecting her thoughts but also taking in the view.

_There must be millions of people living here._

A wave of sadness enveloped her. She wished nothing more than to be back on the _Rayya_. She had no idea where she would go now. Illium was meant to be start of an exciting journey in regards to her Pilgrimage. She had no idea what she was going to take back to the fleet but knew she would have eventually find something worthwhile. Now she was worried about even returning home alive. With a sigh, Tali tore her eyes from the view and walked off deeper into the wards.

Until a shot was fired.

Tali cried out as the bullet hit her in the side. It didn't go in, but she knew, straight away, that her suit was compromised, and she could feel the blood immediately start to flow. She turned to see a turian running towards her, gun raised, aiming to fire again.

_That's the same mercenary from Illium!_

Tali ran. She didn't know where she was going but Tali ran as fast as her legs would take her. She found a set of stairs and jumped down them, two or three steps at a time. Around and round the sets of stairs she ran. She could hear the turian yelling out at her to stop, the occasional shot being fired, but nothing came close to hitting her. Eventually the set of stairs ended, and Tali ran down a long, dark corridor, barely lit by emergency lighting. She tried to open doors to the side as she ran, with no luck. Every single one was locked. She turned and continued to run, her footsteps echoing in the gloom, breathing heavily, looking back every so often to see where the turian was. She had opened quite a gap, as she could barely see him at the end of the corridor.

Tali rounded a corner. And came to a dead end. A long corridor, a steel wall at the end and no way out.

_Keelah, what now?_

Tali searched for refuge. She looked up and saw a small spot where she could hide, above the pipes that appeared to line the corridor. She leapt and grabbed the ledge, dragging herself up and kneeling in the darkness. She took the shotgun from the small of her back, focusing her breath to stop her hands from shaking, as she listened out for the sound of the turians footsteps. Seconds later, she could hear the turian close on her position.

The turian walked past her position with gun raised. Tali observed as he slowly walked past where she was hidden, thanking the ancestors that he did not look up at where she was hidden, figuring the darkness helped her remain unseen. Once he was past, Tali took a deep, silent breath and lowered herself slowly down to the ground, and with gun raised, walked quietly up behind the turian.

"Looking for me?" she asked as she pressed her shotgun into his back.

The turian stopped in his tracks but stayed silent.

"Why are you chasing me? What do you want? You killed my friends on Illium!"

The turian shrugged his shoulders. "You have information my boss wants. What my boss wants, my boss gets."

"What will it take for you to leave me alone?"

"Give me the information you have, and I'll let you go."

Tali scoffed. "Unlikely. You know I've probably already listened to this. You know you can't let me live knowing what I know."

"I give you my word as a turian."

"You're a mercenary!"

The turian stayed silent but appeared to tense for action. Tali kept her finger on the trigger, realising what was about to happen. She almost smirked at the situation, the turian clearly not understanding that quarians read body language better than anyone else.

_He must be crazy!_

_Keelah, I'm going to have to kill him._

To her complete and utter lack of surprise, the turian tried to turn quickly with gun raised while taking a step backwards. Tali, seeing what was about to happen, ducked the swing, the shot fired missing her, embedding itself in a pipe behind her, which started to blow out steam. Tali aimed her shotgun slightly upwards and fired, the closeness of the shot negating the shields of the turian and leaving his armour worthless. The turian flew backwards and onto the ground, his chest and stomach a mess of blood and guts.

Tali, shotgun still raised, took a step forward over the body of the turian. She watched as he took his last breaths before he died. She felt absolutely no guilt, knowing he would have killed her with no compunction whatsoever. But, still, this was the first person she had ever killed. She was unsure how she should really feel, taking another life. With her hands slightly shaking, she stowed the shotgun on the small of her back again. The adrenaline she had been running on was starting to wear off, and the pain from her own bullet wound started to kick in. Holding her side, Tali staggered back up the long corridor and up the numerous flights of stairs.

After what seemed like a hundred flight of stairs, Tali climbed out into one of the wards, dozens of people walking past between the shopping areas. The pain in her side was increasing with every step, Tali knew she needed help. And quickly. She was walking along another corridor when a VI programme started up as she walked by.

"My name is Avina. How can I be your guide?"

Tali stopped in her tracks, looking back at the VI programme. "I need a doctor. The nearest, if possible."

"Dr. Chloe Michel's Medical Clinic is located on Level 10."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Have a nice day."

_Yeah, thanks._

With a groan of pain, Tali staggered back up the stairs, counting each floor as she climbed each step. She was starting to feel awful. She wondered if the bullet she had been hit with had not been coated in something, as she shouldn't be feeling this bad, bullet wound or not. Soon she arrived at level 10 and followed the signs to the medical clinic.

Surprisingly, the clinic was empty as Tail walked through the door. Dr. Michel looked up from her datapad as Tali walked through the door, looking down at her side and the hand covering the bullet wound. Dr. Michel put down her datapad and walked quickly over to Tali, grabbing her by the other hand.

"Come with me, child. We'll get you into a clean room right away."

Tali just nodded as the doctor led her into a small decontamination room. Tali stood there wincing as the doctor dressed herself.

"Don't worry, I know how to treat quarians and their injuries. I've dealt with a number of quarians before so there'll be no surprises. What's your name?"

"Tali'Zorah."

"I'm Doctor Michel. Or Chloe, if you'd like."

Tali just looked at the doctor and nodded. With each second she was feeling worse. She just wanted to lie down and go to sleep. Soon the cycle ended, and the doctor led Tali to a gurney, helping her up and lay her down on her back. The doctor walked across to the other side of the room and grabbed a medical kit, before returning to Tali's side. She moved Tali's hand and inspected the wound.

"Ah, very good. It's just a deep graze. Nothing life threatening, though it's clear the bullet was a polonium round. How do you feel?"

Tali didn't say anything and just shook her head.

"Right. I'll get started right away."

Tali went to sleep.

* * *

Tali woke up with a jump, momentarily forgetting where she was. The pain that shot up her side reminded her of recent events. She let out a sigh and she checked over her suit. The doctor had patched up the hole with black tape. It would do for now, she guessed. After a good stretch, Tali swung her legs out of the gurney and stood up, wobbling slightly as her feet hit the floor. Once the wooziness subsided, she walked back towards the decontamination chamber, and, cycle completed, walked into the clinic. Chloe looked up from her desk as Tali walked in.

"I'm glad you're awake, Tali," Chloe stated with a smile.

Tali sat in the chair opposite the doctor. "Thank you for your help, Chloe."

"While the bullet used was toxic, it was only ever going to make you sick. You may have fallen more ill without treatment though. How do you feel now, Tali?"

"Much better, actually. Still a bit of pain in my side."

"I've given you a heavy dose of anti-biotics that should fight off any effects from the toxin. I also made sure your suit was no longer compromised by patching one or two holes. I've researched most of the races who travel through the Citadel, so I'm aware of quarians certain needs when it comes to medical treatment."

"I must say, that is unusual, Chloe. Once again, you have my thanks."

"One thing that does concern me, Tali, is how a young woman such as yourself ends up in my clinic with a bullet wound, and more to the point, a bullet wound from a polonium round. If you don't mind me asking, just what have you got yourself mixed up in?"

Tali explained, mostly in vague detail, about what had happened on Illium and since her arrival on the Citadel. Chloe listened quietly as Tali spoke, nodding every so often, asking a question occasionally, but mostly just leaving Tali to tell her tale. Once Tali had finished, Chloe sat back in her chair.

"If you would like, Tali, I know of someone who may be able to help you."

"Who is this person?"

"He's a volus who works down in the Presidium. He's a financial advisor, an information broker and also an agent of the Shadow Broker. He's completely trustworthy, as far as I'm concerned. He may be able to help you."

Tali thought for a moment before answering. "Yes, please, contact this broker. It's clear I need to get off the Citadel as soon as possible and quite possibly go into hiding."

_What a great Pilgrimage this has turned out to be._

Chloe walked to the other side of the room to make the call in privacy while Tali simply sat there, a million thoughts rushing through her head. Chloe, her call finished, walked back over and sat down. "He'll be here in a few minutes. Would you like a drink, Tali? I have bottles of purified water available."

"Yes, thank you, Chloe." Tali then had a thought. "Chloe, I have no credits to pay you."

Chloe just grinned back at Tali as she walked over a nearby fridge and grabbed a bottle of water, walking back and handing it Tali before responding, "I run a free clinic, Tali. No problems."

"Oh… Oh, that's great."

The pair made idle chit-chat for a few minutes, Tali polishing off the entire bottle as the thirst took hold, before the door to the clinic opened and a volus walked in. "That's the information broker, Tali."

Tali raised her eyebrows in surprise behind her face-plate. She hadn't expected a volus, though they were known for their financial dealings throughout the galaxy.

"Doctor Michel… a pleasure to see you… and this must be… the young woman you told me about."

Chloe nodded.

"Allow me to… introduce myself. My name is… Barla Von. I am an agent for… the Shadow Broker."

"Pleasure to meet you. My name is Tali'Zorah nar Rayya."

"Pleasure is mine… Tali'Zorah. Now… why don't you tell me… of this information that you have."

"I can do even better than that," replied Tali, who keyed buttons on her omni-tool and two voices were heard. Once that was finished, silence descended upon the room. Tali looked at Chloe, whose eyes were wide, almost in fear.

"Well, well… that is very interesting. I believe… the Shadow Broker… will be very interested in this. What do you require… from the Shadow Broker in return?"

"It's clear someone wants me dead for this information. I need a safe place to hide. I need to get off the Citadel as soon as possible."

"I believe we can… come to some form of agreement. For… the moment, I suggest the best place… to go would be… Chora's Den. The proprietor… of that establishment is… also an agent for the… Shadow Broker."

"Thank you, Barla Von."

"You're welcome… Tali'Zorah." He turned to Chloe. "Doctor Michel… always a pleasure." And with that, the volus turned and walked out of the clinic. Once he had left, Tali turned to Chloe.

"What do you think, Chloe? Can I trust him?"

Chloe nodded. "I've known Barla Von for a while now. He's never steered me wrong, and helped me with finances when I set up this clinic. I don't know much about the Shadow Broker, who or what he or she is, but I know Barla Von. You can trust him, Tali."

"What about the owner of Chora's Den?"

"That I don't know, Tali. I can only assume that if Barla Von vouches for him, he must be reliable. Just be careful around him."

Tali stood there, folding her arms across her chest and thought. She knew her choices were limited. She made up her mind with a single nod.

"Okay, Chloe. I'm in. Where is Chora's Den?"


	5. Chapter 4 - The Investigator

Garrus Vakarian sat at his desk in C-Sec, drumming his fingers on his desk, as he thought of where he could take his investigation next. Executor Pallin had approached him, requesting that Garrus investigate the activities of the Council Spectre, Saren Arterius. Apparently the Alliance had run into the Spectre during a mission on Eden Prime. Events had not gone well. There were rumours that another Spectre had been killed and that a Prothean beacon had been destroyed.

Just the name sent a shiver down the back of Officer Vakarian. Saren was notorious in C-Sec for those who knew of the man and his activities. As usual, though, most of the rumours about Saren were by word of mouth, and mostly written off as nothing but gossip, or those with an axe to grind. Garrus had looked through numerous Council reports regarding Saren, but most of the juicy details were completely classified. And Garrus simply didn't have the clearance to access what he required.

Even the turian hierarchy had little to no evidence of what Saren was up to. He had contacted one or two friends he had retained in the military, but they had no idea what Saren had been up to since he had joined the Spectres. Garrus, at one moment, thought of contacting his father and asking for his help. He shook his head at the thought. The last person he really wanted to speak to was his father.

Garrus started to grow ever more frustrated the more he sat there and thought, before he finally slammed his fist on the table. "Dammit!" he yelled at the emptiness of the room.

_What an absolute load of bureaucratic nonsense. The man is clearly guilty yet they throw up a brick wall at every turn. No wonder I can't find any evidence!_

He leaned over to his right and opened the bottom draw of his desk, retrieving the bottle of brandy he kept for certain occasions. He held the bottle up to his eye and almost chuckled to himself.

_Guess I'll need a new bottle soon._

Garrus grabbed the glass sat on the table near his terminal and filled it with two fingers of brandy, placing the bottle back in the draw and closing it, before lifting the glass, saluting the empty room and throwing back the glass. The liquid slightly burned on the way down his throat before settling in his stomach. It felt good, warmth spreading through his body.

Garrus wondered why Pallin had even given him the job to begin with. He knew of his reputation within C-Sec. Garrus detested the rules and regulations he faced on a daily basis. All he wanted to do was apprehend criminals, and didn't understand why he had constant road-blocks thrown in his way anytime he was on the tail of people he, and they, knew were guilty as sin. As far as Garrus was concerned, too many times suspects were allowed to go free based on technicalities. Garrus knew he was far from a by-the-book officer, particularly in comparison to his father, who always let him know how disappointed he was in Garrus. But Garrus didn't really care. As long as the criminal was caught, in cuffs and in jail, the job was done.

Garrus brought up his omni-tool to check the time and sighed once he noticed it.

_Guess I'd better go and see the Executor._

Garrus had one more lead, but for the time being, with nothing to take with him, Garrus simply stood up, grabbed his holstered sidearm and attached it to his belt, before walking out of his office and towards the elevator. On the Presidium, Garrus strode quickly, barely taking any notice of those around him, though he figured it was your normal day on the Presidium. Garrus enjoyed living on the Citadel, but preferred the atmosphere of the wards to anywhere else. Once at the Citadel Tower, he boarded the elevator and counted down the seconds it would take to ascend.

The door opened once at the top and Garrus walked towards the Executor, who was waiting for him near the Council Chamber, turning towards him as Garrus approached.

"Officer Vakarian."

"Executor Pallin."

"Okay, Vakarian, tell me what you have."

Garrus sighed. "Nothing, Executor. I don't really know what you expected me to find. Most of Saren's activities, regarding the Council, are classified. You should know I need more clearance than I currently have. And any evidence I may have found, I couldn't make stick. Saren is a slimy bastard, sir. You know as well as I do that he's guilty. You only have to listen to the stories."

"That's only rumour and gossip, Vakarian. We need evidence. Do you have any?"

Garrus looked down, sighed, and then looked back up at the Executor. "No, I don't."

"Then I want you to drop this investigation, Vakarian. Immediately."

"What? You must be joking, sir. Saren is guilty! He's a treasonous bastard. I just need more time!"

"The order comes from the very top, Vakarian. Drop it. Now. Return to your office and resume normal duties. That's an order."

Satisfied that Vakarian knew, and would follow, his orders, the Executor turned and walked back to the elevator, past three humans who were walking towards him. Garrus immediately recognised one of them as Commander Shepard, an Alliance soldier who had developed quite the mystique. The three humans approached him.

"Are you Garrus Vakarian?" asked the Commander.

Garrus nodded his head. "I'm Garrus Vakarian. C-Sec investigator."

The two men shook hands, before Shepard introduced the two humans with him, Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko and Chief Ashley Williams.

"I've been told you were leading the investigation into Saren. Come up with anything?"

"Nothing I could make stick, Commander. Saren is one tricky customer. I couldn't find anything concrete, and anything minor I did find, I couldn't make stick. The bastard knows how to cover his tracks, that is for sure. And I think the Council cover up anything else."

Shepard looked about to answer when a human behind Garrus called out.

"Sorry, Vakarian, I'm off to see the Council. Thanks for your help though. If you have anything else, let my colleagues know."

"Will do, Commander," replied Garrus, as Shepard walked by and up the stairs towards the Council.

"What makes you so sure Saren is guilty?" asked the Lieutenant.

Garrus shrugged his shoulders. "Ever work on just your gut?"

The two humans both nodded.

"I may not have anything concrete. No hard facts and evidence. The Executor may want to dismiss this entire thing as a waste of time. But I know the reputation that Saren has developed during his time as a Spectre. I know the reputation I have in C-Sec, and it pales in comparison to the one Saren has. Even the turians wash their hands of the man."

"What sort of reputation does he have?" asked Chief Williams.

"Let's compare. I'll do anything I can to bring a criminal to justice, but will avoid collateral damage and hurting anyone innocent, in particular civilians. I don't need those sort of deaths on my conscience. Saren will do anything to bring a criminal to justice, and does not care about collateral damage and who is killed along the way. Unfortunately, I have no access to any mission reports, but these stories are well known in C-Sec."

The Lieutenant could only shrug his shoulders. "It's unfortunate, but we'll just have to see what happens."

"I have one more lead, but I'm not sure where it will go. I was trying to tell the Executor before he cut me off and shut down the investigation. Quite frankly, I don't care what the man says. Saren has to be brought to account for his crimes."

The two humans looked at each other before looking back at Garrus.

"Are you sure that's wise?" asked the Lieutenant.

Garrus shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not a very good turian. I hate following bad orders. The order the Executor gave me stinks of a cover-up. No, I'm going to continue the investigation and see what I can find. Let the Commander know I'm doing that at least."

The two humans nodded.

"Hope to see you again," stated Garrus as held he out a hand, the two humans reciprocating the gesture, before Garrus walked back to the elevator.

* * *

Back in his office in C-Sec, sat at his desk again, Garrus was checking through all the files he had managed to gather on his terminal. He had an abundance of information regarding a local crime-lord by the name of Fist. Rumours abounded that he was once an agent for the Shadow Broker, but had recently switched allegiance to Saren. Garrus wondered what would make someone turn their back on the Shadow Broker. It must have been one hell of deal, though Garrus.

He flicked through his inbox and noticed a message from Dr. Michel. His eyes widened momentarily in surprise, a slight smile spreading across his face, as he wondered why the human Doctor had sent him a message.

_To: Officer Garrus Vakarian_

_From: Doctor Chloe Michel_

_Subject: Quarian_

_Garrus,_

_Sorry to message you out of the blue but I have some information you may find interesting. I've had a young quarian woman in my clinic recently. She had been wounded after being shot by a mercenary working on behalf of Saren. Added to that, she had information about Saren that she wanted to pass on to the Shadow Broker in return for her safety._

_I contacted Barla Von who has since directed the young woman to Chora's Den and Fist._

_You should drop by and visit some time, by the way. I have a bottle of brandy with your name written all over it._

_Regards_

_Chloe_

Garrus' blood ran cold. Clearly Chloe was unaware of the switch in allegiance Fist had recently made. He needed to go and see Chloe now and find out what was going on, and most importantly, who this quarian was and what the information she had.

_This could be the breakthrough I need!_

Garrus ran out of his office and towards the elevator, pressing the button continuously in his desperation for the elevator to arrive.

"Come on! Come on!" he pleaded. Finally, there was a ding and the elevator arrived. "Finally!" he exclaimed as he stepped on, pressing the button for the correct floor.

Garrus tried to keep calm during the descent but his heart was racing at the thought someone innocent may be putting their head into the lion's mouth. Finally the elevator arrived at the bottom and the door opened, Garrus rushing out, following the signs to the medical clinic. Garrus was about to open the door when he could hear shouting from inside. Garrus stopped, taking cover to the side of the door and pressed the button to open it. Once opened, Garrus peeked around the corner, taking in what he could see.

He could see the Doctor surrounded by at least five thugs, one of them had a gun aimed at the forehead of the human. Four others surrounded her. None of them seemed to have noticed the door open.

Crouching down, Garrus slowly covered the space between the door and the nearby pillar. To his complete surprise, not one of the thugs noticed that he had entered the room.

_Amateurs. Or idiots. Or simply both._

Garrus, gun in hand, finger on the trigger ready to fire, slowly rounded the pillar, listening to the voice of Chloe, who was clearly under strain, claiming not to have any information about the quarian.

_Hold on just a few more seconds, Chloe._

"Let her go!" ordered a voice behind him. Garrus turned his head slightly to notice Commander Shepard enter the room, gun raised. Behind him came the Lieutenant and Chief, also guns raised, aimed at the thugs.

"Back the fuck up!" ordered one of the thugs, clearly the leader, grabbing Chloe at the same time and using her as a human shield.

"I'll ask you one more time, asshole. Let. Her. The Fuck. Go. Now," demanded Shepard.

_Thank the spirits for you, Commander_

With the lead thug and four others momentarily distracted, Garrus stepped out from cover, aimed his weapon at the thug holding Chloe and fired. The bullet went into the side of the thugs head, exploding out the other side, covering the thug nearest him in blood. The thug holding Chloe collapsed to the ground, taking Chloe with him, who screamed in terror.

Garrus and the three humans started firing, Garrus stepping back behind cover as the bullets started to fly. Garrus figured he hit at least two of the other thugs, but with three others guns also joining in the fun, it wasn't long until there were only four people left standing, the bloodied bodies of five thugs littering the floor.

Garrus holstered his weapon and quickly walked over to Chloe, leaning down and helping her up. "Are you okay, Chloe?" he asked, concern in his voice.

Chloe looked up and smiled. "Garrus! Thank heavens you arrived when you did!"

"Not just me, Chloe, I had some help," replied Garrus, as he turned to the three humans. "Thanks for arriving when you did, Commander. It allowed me to get off the shot."

The Commander, busy holstering his own weapon, merely nodded. "Good shot, Garrus. Risky, but it was clean nonetheless."

Garrus nodded. "I had to take the shot, Commander. Could have ended far worse otherwise," he stated, looking across at Chloe, who took a few steps back and sat at the chair of her desk, fanning herself down, trying to calm her nerves.

"We've been trying to track you down, Vakarian," stated the Commander, "I was led to believe you were continuing your investigation. I see you were. I mean, what's all this about?"

"I believe I can answer that question, Commander," replied Chloe, "I had a quarian in here just recently. I believe that is who these thugs," she said, gesturing to the bodies on the ground, "May have been after."

"Quarian? What quarian?" asked Shepard, "What was her story?"

"It's a long story, Commander. But what I can tell you is that she had been shot, and the person who had was smart enough, if you can call it that, to use polonium rounds, ensuring she would be sick. I managed to patch her up and put her in contact with the Shadow Broker. She had information about a Spectre by the name of Saren."

"That's why I'm here, Chloe," explained Garrus, "Fist is no longer an agent of the Shadow Broker. He's switched allegiance and now works for Saren."

"Oh my God!" whispered Chloe.

"Where did she go?" asked the Commander.

"As far as I know, she should still be in Chora's Den. She was sent there to wait for her next contact," replied Chloe.

"Right, Chora's Den it is then," stated the Commander.

"Actually, Commander, I have an idea," Garrus added, "There is a krogan bounty hunter currently on the Citadel. It's been established that there is a contract out for Fist and that this bounty hunter may want to collect. I've been hearing through my ear-piece that he's recently been detained though is about to be released."

"A krogan could also come in handy fighting Saren," added the Chief.

"Right, we'll go get this krogan, but we have to do this quickly. Vakarian, we could use your help as well. You're welcome to join us, if you'd like," offered the Commander.

"Of course, Commander. I'd be delighted."

With a final check on Chloe to make sure she was okay, Garrus radioed in to C-Sec, letting them know about what had happened, before he joined the three humans outside. Together, the four walked down the steps and along the long corridor towards C-Sec.

"What information do you think this quarian has?" asked the Commander.

"Something regarding Saren. Chloe seemed sure it would prove his guilt," replied Garrus.

"Excellent. We need some good news. I don't appreciate getting my ass chewed by the Council."

Silence descended as the group walked towards along the corridor.

"What do you know about this bounty hunter?" asked the Commander, as they boarded the elevator.

"Name is Wrex. From the information I received, he's one of the last krogan battle-masters. No idea how old he is, but krogan live even longer than asari, and the asari can live until they are a thousand years old. I had a dossier on my terminal about Wrex. To read up on everything about the man would take a week."

"Sounds like he'll be a great addition to my team, then."

Garrus just nodded in agreement as the elevator finished its ascent and the four stepped off. They rounded a corner to see a formidable looking krogan sat down, appearing to be fast asleep.

"There's our bounty hunter," stated Garrus, flicking his head in the krogans direction.

"Well, I'm not entirely sure about waking a sleeping krogan, but I think it's time we go and introduce ourselves."


	6. Chapter 5 - The Bounty Hunter

Crowds parted in front of the massive krogan as he stomped his way down the boulevard towards the apartment block in the distance. The krogan was used to intimidating others, the little people scurrying out of his way coming as no great surprise. On size alone, the krogan towered over all those around him. When he was armed with a shotgun and the blood rage was flowing through his veins, he felt near invincible. And those around him would feel his wrath.

The krogan was on his way to another job. For at least the past three centuries, Wrex had worked as a mercenary, bounty hunter or general gun for hire. In some ways, Wrex was your typical krogan. He enjoyed the fight, and took enjoyment in killing things. Particularly those people who were stupid enough to get in his way. Or make an enemy of him. Those people usually ended up in a pool of their own blood on the floor, a shotgun wound making a mess of their head or chest.

Wrex tried not to think about it too much, but he found his thoughts did wander back to his home-world, Tuchanka, every so often. Wrex was not what you would call a proud krogan. Pride was something few krogan felt. In fact, he thought his species were an embarrassment. He had almost given up on them. Over a thousand years ago, the krogan were one of the most respected species in the galaxy, having just saved the galaxy from the rachni. It was a time when the krogan could have raised themselves to new heights. Instead, the krogan decided to go to war with the rest of the galaxy, throwing away any good-will from the other races and ending their possibility of advancement. Tuchanka was already a nuclear wasteland, and with the onset of the genophage, an incurable disease that had been developed by the salarians and released by the turians, a disease that left most females unable to give birth, he knew his race was slowly dying out. In a few centuries time, Wrex figured the krogan would be near-extinct.

And, apart from the genophage, it was their own fault.

Wrex cleared his mind of everything, except the job at hand, as he entered the foyer of the apartment block. He walked to the screen showing the list of tenants. Finding the name of the person he was trying to locate, and the floor on which he resided, Wrex boarded the elevator. Once the doors closed, Wrex took out his shotgun, checking over it as the elevator ascended to the top floor. Once at the top, Wrex stepped out of the elevator, looked at the numbers pointing in either direction, and turned to the left. Slowly he lumbered down the hallway until he came to the end, and the door required.

_Knock or kick the door in._

It wasn't a terribly difficult decision.

_Kick the door in._

Wrex raised a foot and kicked in the door. It flew backwards, landing on the floor, a crumpled mess.

"Fist!" roared the krogan, "Come out, come out, wherever you are!" he added menacingly.

With shotgun in front of him, joining his eyes in the search, Wrex slowly made his way through the front room. The place looked deserted, though there were signals someone had just been there. A cigarette still sat, smoking slightly, in an ashtray on a table, alongside a half-empty bottle of beer. The vid-screen had not been switched off, the krogan's attention taken momentarily as he watched what was transpiring on the screen.

_So that's what humans look like naked. But what the hell are they doing? They film their mating rituals?_

Wrex walked into the empty kitchen, taking note of the mess left behind, before turning around and checking the bathroom and two bedrooms. There was no sign of Fist, but it was clear that he had been warned that Wrex was coming. Wrex stood and thought for a moment. That concerned him ever so slightly. Was another bounty hunter on his trail? Or was this a set-up? He had no reason to think that the Shadow Broker would cross him. He had worked for him a number of times before and had always delivered.

Wrex kept his shotgun in hand as he slowly walked out of the empty apartment. He figured it was unlikely Fist would be returning anytime soon. Back down the hallway he walked, listening for the tell-tale sign of an approaching enemy. But none appeared, as Wrex re-boarded the elevator and descended down to the ground floor. He stored his shotgun as the elevator lowered, and stepped out into the foyer once it had arrived.

Wrex was annoyed that the target had escaped. Killing Fist in his home would have been an easy job, easy credits, and most importantly, no witnesses. He knew that Fist was the owner of Chora's Den back in the Wards and figured the job was now going to have to be public.

"Dammit!" he muttered to himself as he walked back up the boulevard, the crowds of people once again parting as he walked by.

It was a long walk back to the wards, Wrex lumbering his way down the myriad of hallways and corridors. He eventually found signs pointing to Chora's Den. In all the times Wrex had been on the Citadel, he couldn't remember having visited Chora's.

_Maybe it's changed name…._

He walked out in a courtyard area, with the flickering sign flashing 'Chora's Den' to his left. Wrex contemplated pulling out his shotgun prior to walking through the entrance, but thought better of it, for the time being, at least. Fist would die by his hand, or bullets, in the end.

Through the entrance Wrex walked, stopping as he slowly looked from left to right, surveying the scene. Drunks of various races were sat at the bar, most of them looking down at their drinks, rather than the asari dancers on the platform above the bar, gyrating around poles in their skin-tight costumes. Wrex looked up at them appreciatively.

_Asari always look so nimble. Shame so many of them have no interest in handling the quad of a krogan._

Wrex tore his eyes from the asari dancers and walked around the bar, taking note of the two krogan bouncers stood quietly to each side of the room. He could feel their eyes watching him as he made his way towards two other krogan, who were clearly bodyguards for Fist. One of them stepped forward, hand raised in a gesture for Wrex to halt.

"What do you want?" asked the bodyguard.

"I'm here to see Fist," replied Wrex.

"And who are you?"

"You know who I am."

The krogan bodyguard glared at Wrex and took a step forward. Wrex noticed the second bodyguard un-holster his shotgun and aim it at Wrex.

"Back off, Wrex. Fist told us to take you down if you showed up. But, we're going to be reasonable. We don't want an incident. And we certainly don't want C-Sec sniffing around."

"You want to take me down?" Wrex chuckled, before adding, "Then what are you waiting for? I'm standing right here." He then took a step, standing nose to nose with the other krogan, adding in a low, threatening voice, "This is Fist's only chance. He'd better take it."

"He's not coming out and you can't see him, Wrex. End of story. Now go," answered the other bodyguard, indicating the door with his shotgun.

Wrex chuckled again, laced with menace. "This is only the beginning. I'll be back."

Wrex turned and started making his way out of the bar. He noticed three humans approaching him. Wrex didn't want to be stopped by anyone, but wasn't going to take his anger on these humans, as long as they didn't get in his way. His eyes locked with the human leading the other two for a moment.

_He looks familiar…_

"Out of my way, humans," ordered Wrex, with a gesture of his hand, "I have no quarrel with you."

The three humans stepped out of his way, Wrex locking his eyes with the human again as he glared back at the krogan, a slight grin spreading across his face. Wrex nodded his head ever so slightly.

_It appears I have met a fellow warrior. He does look familiar…_

Wrex walked back through the maze of corridors and out into the crowded wards. He walked towards one of the viewing platforms, resting his hands on the ledge and relaxing ever so slightly as he took in the view. He always visited one of these viewing areas every time he was on the Citadel. He took pleasure in being able to take in the view of a world not completely destroyed.

The sounds of hurried footsteps pounding the ground grabbed his attention, turning his head ever so slightly to see at least a dozen C-Sec officers close in on his position. They formed a semi-circle around where he stood, guns raised, all aimed at his head. One of the officers stepped forward, Wrex guessing that he was in charge. Wrex just turned and leaned back against the barrier behind him, folding his arms across his chest.

"Easy now, Wrex, we don't want any trouble," said the officer.

"Not looking for any myself," replied Wrex.

"You need to come with us, Wrex. We've had a complaint from a citizen, about you making threats."

Wrex laughed. "I can only guess who? And you're taking the word of that pyjak?"

The officer shrugged his shoulders. "The complaint has been made, Wrex. We have to follow up on it. We're not placing you under arrest, but we would like you to come with us, sit up in C-Sec for a while, let things cool off. Let us investigate the complaint but keep an eye on you at the same time. We know who you are and why you're here."

Wrex glared at the dozen officers surrounding him. He could sense the nervousness flowing from them. He figured by refusing that he'd soon be involved in a firefight. He had no time for C-Sec officers, or most authority figures, but didn't really want to murder all of them.

"Alright, I'll play nice… for now," replied Wrex. He could see the officers relax ever so slightly, fingers moving off the trigger, though they kept their weapons raised. "Lead the way then."

Surrounded by C-Sec officers, Wrex was led through the wards towards C-Sec. The officers relaxed as Wrex wasn't looking to fight them, so he found one or two of them were quite chatty. Wrex was surprised to see at least half of the officers were humans. It appeared, to Wrex at least, that humanity had made great strides since their arrival on the scene.

Once Wrex was loaded on the elevator to C-Sec, most of the officers disappeared to resume their regular beat, leaving only four officers to guard the krogan as they ascended. Once at the top, Wrex walked out followed by the four officers, who suggested he just take a seat and wait quietly. Wrex took the suggestion and sat down, stretching his legs out in front of them, while slightly leaning back against the wall behind him, resting his hands on his stomach. The four officers disappeared as Wrex closed his eyes.

* * *

Wrex figured he must have dozed off as the next thing he knew, he was being shaken by the shoulder. Wrex opened an eye to see a human looking down at him. The same human he had seen down in Chora's Den.

"What do you want, human?" asked Wrex, as he stood up and stretched, before turning his attention back to the human.

"My name is Commander Shepard. I figured we may be able to help each other out."

"I know who you are, Shepard. You've made quite the name for yourself."

Shepard just nodded his head before continuing. "Anyway, I understand you're after someone named Fist. So are we. I'm also after a rogue Spectre the name of Saren. How about we join forces? I could use your help."

Wrex thought for maybe five seconds. "Sounds good, Shepard. I'm in."

Wrex recognised the three humans from the bar but didn't recognise the turian. The five boarded the elevator. "Who are you?" Wrex asked the turian.

"Name's Garrus. C-Sec. Well, I was. I just handed in my badge."

"Are you sure that was wise?" asked Shepard.

"I have a feeling I'm about to be participating in something far more important than chasing petty criminals around the Citadel, Commander."

Quiet descended upon the elevator as it made its way back down to the lower wards. Once at the bottom, the five followed the signs through the numerous number of corridors towards Chora's Den. Wrex stayed quiet. He had no interest in making small-talk with the group for the moment. He just wanted to deal with Fist and get paid.

The group reached the entrance to Chora's Den, Shepard stopping the group before the door opened automatically.

"Something wrong, Commander?" asked Alenko.

"Yeah, it's too quiet. We should hear the music blasting from even this far away. Weapons hot, folks. I think we're going to have some fun in a moment."

Wrex took out his shotgun as the three of the others took out their assault rifles, while Alenko was armed with only a pistol. Shepard gestured for the team to follow, and once the door opened, bullets started flying in their direction, Shepard ordering everyone to take cover.

Wrex had no time for those tactics, storming into the room, running to his right, shotgun raised, which immediately found its first target. Wrex pulled the trigger as he closed on the human bodyguard, the blast of spray knocking back the human to the ground. Wrex unloaded another shot into the face of the human, Wrex hearing the squelching sound as the human's face disappeared. Wrex charged on, aiming towards one of the krogan bodyguards, ignoring the bullets otherwise flying around the room. He could feel one or two bullets impact his shields, but his four temporary allies were taking a lot of the fire.

Wrex raised his weapon and swung it, baseball bat style, at the krogan bodyguard, knocking the weapon out of his hands, and causing the other krogan to stagger back against the wall. Wrex then flipping the shotgun in his hand, finger on the trigger and laid two blasts into the krogan, who slowly dropped down against the wall, leaving streaks of blood along the way.

Wrex turned around to see Shepard and the other three walking towards him. They had taken care of the rest. Shepard took the lead again as they walked down the hallway. They were approached by a pair of armed, but clearly frightened warehouse workers. Wrex was ready to shoot them both to get them out of the way but Shepard just told them to get out of there, considering the pile of bodies currently piled up in the bar. The two of them dropped their guns and simply ran.

With the warehouse workers out of the way, the way was open to get hold of Fist. Shepard led the way into his office, and immediately ran into trouble.

"Turrets! Take cover!" ordered the Commander.

Wrex took cover behind a pillar, unloading a shotgun blast towards Fist.

_Turrets in his office? Fist must be scared to death._

Alenko managed to take out of the turrets with a pair of tech attacks, while Shepard and the other human provided help with some assault rifle fire, which finally leaving Fist alone. The human got onto his knees and pleaded for his life.

"Start talking, Fist. Tell me where the quarian is," demanded Shepard.

"She's not here. I don't know where she is. I swear!"

Wrex stepped forward, putting his shotgun right into Fist's face. "Answer the damned question, human."

Fist flinched backwards. "Okay! Okay! Listen, the quarian said she'd only deal with the Shadow Broker himself."

"No-one knows who the Shadow Broker actually is. He only works through agents, such as yourself. Well, used to anyway," stated Garrus.

Fist finally got to his feet as he explained. "I know that, but she didn't. So I told her I'd set up a meeting. But, when she shows up, Saren's men will be waiting."

"Where is the meeting?"

"Down in a back alley, behind the markets. You won't miss it."

"If I was a complete asshole, Fist, I'd shoot you right here for all the trouble you've caused. But from what I hear, your life isn't going to be worth much in the future. I'd suggest you disappear."

Shepard and three of the others turned and were about to walk out of the office as Wrex stepped forward and placed his shotgun on Fist's chest. "The Shadow Broker sends his regards," stated Wrex as he pulled the trigger. Fist flew backwards, slamming into the wall behind him, his body falling down to the floor.

Shepard turned around and looked at Fist, a gaping chasm now in his chest, the human quite clearly dead. "Was that really necessary, Wrex?"

Wrex was standing over Fist, taking a picture of his body with his omni-tool. He then searched his pockets, grabbing an OSD which he threw to Shepard. "I had a contract that I've just finished. Just have to take a picture as evidence that it's now completed. So, I'm now free to help you out. You'll also like what's on that OSD, Shepard. It may come in handy, if what you were talking about the on elevator regarding that reporter is true."

Shepard caught the OSD and shrugged his shoulders. He clearly wasn't about to argue with an armed krogan.

"Fair enough. Okay, come on, we have a quarian to rescue."


	7. Chapter 6 - The Rescue

_A/N - Apart from phil, who has left feedback for most chapters (for which I thank him), I'm unsure if anyone else is actually reading this! I don't expect feedback all the time, but it's nice to know if people are reading it and if they enjoy it. But I'd also like to know if you don't like it, for whatever reason. As I've always said, constructive criticism is always appreciated as it can only help improve my story and my writing._

_I've also been thinking while writing this. Doing a primarily Shepard POV is silly, as that is what the game is! So I've started editing chapters going forward (and I only wrote the Tali / Garrus / Wrex chapters recently, uploading them instead of my original writings), completely redesigning them to have different POVs. Some will still be Shepard, but I'm going to truly mix it up. With that, I can throw in other characters thoughts, motivations and back-story etc. Hopefully that will also give the story an air of originality as well._

* * *

Tali knew she was in over her head. But, with no options left, she was desperate. She knew the information in her possession was important. It was certainly valuable. Certainly worth the cost of protection. Certainly worth the price of the help she needed. She sighed as she waited for the contact she'd been put in touch with. She didn't particularly trust Fist. Something about him just rubbed her the wrong way, the way he evaded questions about the Shadow Broker. But she had no choice.

She stood next to a pile of crates, leaning against them slightly to give the appearance of being completely relaxed. Her insides, though, were twisting inside and out. It had been a long couple of days. She was exhausted. She just wanted it all to be over.

A turian, followed by a couple of salarians, walked through the door at the end of the corridor and slowly approached her. The two salarians stopped a few paces away, while the turian continued to approach, stopping just short of her. Tali wanted to step back, but took a breath. Tried to stand slightly taller.

_Show no fear._

"Do you have the information?" asked the turian.

Tali peered at the turian from behind her mask. She already knew something wasn't right. Something about this turian just seemed… wrong. He certainly wasn't the Shadow Broker. But she'd play along for now. She was trapped otherwise.

"Where's the Shadow Broker? Why isn't Fist here?" she demanded to know from the turian.

"They'll be here," answered the turian, running his hand down her side, Tali resisting the urge to slap him across the face, instead just shrugging his hand away, "Now, where is the evidence? Quit stalling."

"I'm only dealing with the Shadow Broker. Since you're obviously not him, the deal's off," stated Tali, as she backed away from the turian, preparing to turn and run away.

"That is… unfortunate," answered the turian, who looked behind at the two salarians. Both quickly un-holstered an assault rifle and aimed to fire. Quick as a flash, Tali unhooked a grenade, throwing it at the two salarians, and she leapt for cover behind the pile of crates she had originally been leaning against. She retrieved her shotgun from the small of her back and waited for the turian or salarians to make a move. She thought this was well and truly the end. The turian she had handled previously was alone, and Tali got the jump on him. This was a completely different situation.

_What a way to end my Pilgrimage. In a dark alleyway on the Citadel. Great example of an Admiral's daughter you've turned out to be._

Tali's thoughts were then shattered by the sound of gunfire, originating from behind her position. She turned around to see five people enter the corridor, raining a hail of bullets and biotics towards the turian and two salarians, who had rushed for cover of their own. Tali's eyes went wide behind her mask. Besides the three obvious humans, there was also a turian and a krogan in support. Tali had to shake her head in disbelief as she stared.

_Why is a krogan and a turian helping three humans? What are they doing here?_

The five made short work of the turian and salarians, bullets riddling the bodies of the two salarians, while a rifle shot from the turian blew apart the head of the other, who dropped to the ground dead where he stood. Tali was barely required to assist in any way, though she managed to get off a shot or two, though she doubted that she actually hit anything. She watched as the five walked down the stairs towards her.

"Check the bodies. Secure the area," ordered one of the humans, pointing at the bodies. The two other humans and turian walked towards the bodies while the krogan just walked over to another wall and leaned against it. The human had a male voice. He was clearly the leader. He walked towards her, removing his helmet in the process. Obvious concern was written on his face. Tali had had had little to do with humans in her life so far, but in her brief encounter with Chloe, she had learned that human faces generally displayed what they were thinking or feeling. Despite her rapidly beating heart, she took a deep breath.

Tried to sound brave.

"This was a set-up. I knew I shouldn't have been so trusting. Dammit!" stated Tali, before she sighed. The recent events had shaken her to her core. She was tired and had had enough. She was desperate for help.

"I wouldn't worry about Fist anymore. He's been taken care of. More importantly, are you okay? Were you hurt?" asked the human, concern in his voice.

Tali looked at the human, her jaw dropped slightly behind the mask. This was unusual. Someone who wasn't a quarian actually concerned for her welfare? Apart from Chloe, and she may have only cared because she was a doctor, no-one else appeared to give a damn. She was already used to just being labelled a 'suit-rat'. She looked the human over before she answered. He had short, dark hair. Deep blue eyes. His face had a hard edge. Yet, at the same time, his face, in particular his eyes, softened as he looked her over. But he looked like he'd had a tough life. He looked strong. He was clearly well built, even though he was covered in body armour. She wondered what he looked like under the amour. She then blushed, thankful for the mask again.

_You've only just met this human, Tali. Get those thoughts out of your head._

She looked into his eyes again. His were clearly looking her over in return. They were certainly bright. Had a certain quality to them.

_They are quite lovely eyes…_

"So, were you hurt? Do you need a doctor or anything?" asked the human again, as he moved in closer, concern still on his face.

Tali cleared her throat and tried to sound confident. "I'm fine. I know how to take care of myself. But I appreciate your help all the same. Thank you. But… who are you?"

The male human gave her a grin before he spoke. "My name's Commander Shepard. I'm with the Alliance. And we're looking for evidence to prove that the Spectre agent, Saren, is a traitor. We've been informed that you may have such evidence."

Tali grinned from behind her mask. "Then I can return the favour for saving my life. But we should go somewhere else. It's not safe here. Someone else is bound to show up, looking for answers."

"Let's go to the human embassy, Commander. The Presidium will be safe. The ambassador, and Captain Anderson, will no doubt want to see what evidence she has."

"Good thinking, Vakarian."

Shepard looked at Tali with eyebrows raised. "Would you care to accompany us?"

_Did he just ask me to come along? I'm not used to being asked anything! It's always 'Tali, do this!' or 'Tali, do that!'_

Tali stood there, wringing her hands. She knew it was habit she had. "Um… er… well…"

"Something wrong?" asked Shepard, moving even closer.

Tali looked up at Shepard as she watched him close the space between them. "I'm sorry, Commander. It's just highly unusual anyone would just ask me. Usually I'm just told what to do. And, well, after everything that's happened…"

Shepard grinned again as he looked into her glowing eyes. "Well, I'm asking. We could use your help."

_A human needs my help?_

Tali didn't need to think for another second.

_Are all humans this nice? Well, I like this one already._

Tali had a smile on her face as she responded. "Yes, Commander. I'll join you. Lead the way."

* * *

Shepard and his band of merry men, and women, walked through the Presidium, on their way to the human embassy. Tali walked alongside them, wringing her hands, something which Shepard noticed. He had already noticed the stares they had received.

"Something wrong?" he asked Tali.

_I didn't even ask for her name. Idiot! Too late now._

Tali spoke quietly. "Quarians are generally not welcome on the Presidium, Commander. Generally we're kept confined to the lower wards. I get the feeling we're not even welcome there. I've already been told to get off the Citadel by C-Sec."

"Well, you're with me. If anyone has a problem with that, I'll deal with them myself."

Tali could only grin, and blush again, behind her mask.

_Who is this man?_

A hundred metres or so from the embassy, the group were approaching a group of turians, who were watching their progress intently. Shepard counted eight of them. He kept an eye on them, and brought his group to a halt as they walked across the path to block their progress.

"What's the suit-rat doing on the Presidium?" asked one of the turians, "They're not welcome here."

Shepard's blood started to boil. "Excuse me, what did you just say?"

The turian pointed at Tali. "I said what is the suit-rat doing on the Presidium?"

Shepard took a step forward and stood eye to eye with the turian, close enough to feel the turians breath on his face. "Say that one more time…" he growled quietly.

The turian gulped, but stared straight back at Shepard. "I said what is the suit-rat…"

The turian never finished the sentence, as Shepard moved his head back and then slammed his forehead into the face of the turian, who collapsed to the ground. Shepard heard the sounds of five un-holstered weapons behind him being readied. Tali stood still, absolutely shocked at what had just happened. The group of turians stared at Shepard dumbfounded.

"Any of you other pricks have something to say about my quarian friend here?"

Seven turians shook their heads.

"Then I suggest you pick up your friend here and fuck off. Now."

Shepard looked on as two of the turians picked up the turian currenlty lay on the ground, who was bleeding from various places on his face, and slowly walked away. Shepard kept watch until they were gone from sight. Shepard turned his head towards Tali and gave a slight grin.

"As I said, I'd deal with them myself. Ready to go?"

Tali just silently nodded her head, unable to comprehend what had just happened.

_Who is this man?_

The group made their way into the human embassy, walking past the asari receptionist, who once again greeted them all with a friendly 'Hello'. Shepard led the way into the office. Udina had his back turned, but sensed Shepard as he walked through the door. He sighed prior to speaking. "Goddammit, Shepard. How much more havoc do you want to cause? Firefights in the wards? Carnage in Chora's Den? What on earth…"

Udina turned around and noticed the entourage Shepard had assembled. His eyes went wide with surprise.

"And what the hell is all this, Shepard? A krogan? A turian? A quarian?" The last name mentioned with disdain. "Just what the hell are you up to, Shepard?"

Shepard's patience had finally worn thin with the Ambassador. "Listen, Udina, if you'd give your mouth a rest for a second, maybe I could tell you what has been going on."

Udina mouth dropped open, looking like he'd just been slapped. Shepard could hear the sounds of laughter being suppressed behind him. Tali looked up at him with eyes wide, disbelieving he would speak to a superior in such as manner.

"Shepard!" barked Anderson, who stood behind and to the side of Udina. Shepard looked at Anderson. Anderson glared at Shepard, but was almost trying to suppress a grin himself. Shepard knew he'd overstepped the mark. He figured Anderson may tear strips off him later. So Shepard nodded, looking apologetic.

_If Udina thinks I'm verbally apologising though…_

Shepard sighed before gesturing towards Tali. "Ambassador, the quarian at my side has information about Saren. I asked if she could accompany us here, so we could listen to what evidence she has. And I would have told you that, if you had let me explain what was happening."

Shepard was surprised at what happened next. "I apologise, Commander. I should have asked for your report first, before making any assumptions. As I'm sure you can understand, we're all on edge here. This whole issue with Saren is an absolute mess. However, if your friend here has some information, then finally we may have a breakthrough. Your name, Miss?"

"I'm Tali. Tali'Zorah nar Rayya," she said, standing slightly taller as she spoke.

Shepard grinned to himself.

_That's a pretty name._

_I wonder what she looks like under that suit?_

Shepard then shook his head.

_Jesus, get a grip of yourself, Shepard._

"It's unusual to see a quarian on the Citadel nowadays, Miss Zorah. What brings you here to the Citadel? I thought all quarians remained on the flotilla," asked Anderson.

"Please, my name is Tali. I'm currently on my Pilgrimage. It is a rite of passage for all quarians into adulthood."

"Pilgrimage? What sort? Back on Earth, it is generally a journey of religious or spiritual significance," asked Shepard.

Tali's eyes went wide with surprise at the question. She couldn't remember the last time, if ever, she had explained the Pilgrimage to a non-quarian.

"It is a tradition among my people. Once a quarian reaches maturity, we leave our birth-ships and venture out into the stars. We leave all that we know and love behind."

"So what is the purpose of a Pilgrimage for a quarian?" asked Shepard, "I take it's not the same as those on Earth."

Tali could only smile behind her mask, as Shepard continued to question. "The main purpose of our Pilgrimage is to prove our worth to the fleet. We have to prove that we won't be a burden to our ship, or the flotilla. Everyone must contribute to the continued survival of the fleet."

"What would the flotilla find valuable?" asked Shepard. He was genuinely curious, having never met a quarian before.

"Generally resources, such as food and fuel. Or technology. Generally it should be something to benefit the flotilla as a whole. Life on the flotilla is incredibly difficult. We don't have much in the way of resources."

Shepard nodded his head, taking in all the information. Life for a quarian sounded harsh. He figured his time on the streets back on Earth were difficult, but at least he was planet-side.

"Anyway, Miss Zorah, this information you have?" asked Udina.

"Since leaving for my Pilgrimage, I've been hearing lots of report about the geth active outside the Veil. That was unusual, as the geth have rarely been outside the Veil since our people were driven into exile."

Anderson nodded. "Very true, Miss Zorah. We ran into geth on a human colony, called Eden Prime. Caught us completely unawares."

Tali nodded. "Yes, I've heard numerous of geth appearing in all manner of places out of the Veil. So, naturally, as a quarian, I was curious as to what they were up to. I started tracking a geth patrol that was operating near an uncharted world. Surprisingly, they split up when they touched down on the ground. I managed to disable the geth unit and retrieve its memory core."

"Impressive work, Miss Zorah," stated Anderson, "As I understand, the geth will usually fry their memory core, as a defence mechanism, before they died."

"Is that true, Tali?" asked Shepard.

"The quarians created the geth, Commander. We know all their system intricacies. If you're quick enough, and skilled enough as an engineer, it's possible to save the core, or at least some of the information it contains."

Shepard grinned. "Well, colour me impressed, Tali."

Tali could only grin again behind the mask. She knew that she blushing at the constant questions and compliments from all these humans. "Anyway, the core I salvaged wasn't fully intact. But there was information left over. Audio that I believe you will find very interesting."

Tali then pressed few buttons on her omni-tool and an already familiar voice started.

_Eden Prime was a major victory! The beacon has brought us one step closer to finding the Conduit._

"That's Saren! There is the undeniable proof the bastard was behind the attack!" stated Anderson.

"Any idea what the Conduit might be?" asked Shepard.

"No idea, Shepard. Must be something important, though, if the Protheans have left that information in a beacon. Whatever it is, that's why Saren wanted the beacon."

"Wait, there's more," interrupted Tali, "Saren isn't working alone. There's another voice."

_And one step closer to the return of the Reapers_.

"I don't recognise that voice," stated Udina. Shepard looked around the room. No-one had any idea who the voice belonged to. That was a dead end for now. But at least they had Saren hook, line and sinker. They just needed to reel the bastard in now.

"Reapers," whispered Shepard to himself, "Why do I have a feeling that I've heard of them before?" he asked aloud.

"According to information still on the memory core, the Reapers were an advanced synthetic race that existed 50,000 years ago. The geth seem to believe that it was the Reapers that caused the Prothean extinction. They believe the Reapers are Gods. And it appears they are supporting Saren because he wants to bring them back."

Shepard walked over the balcony and looked out over the Presidium, the light reflecting off the lake, almost like the sun reflecting off the ocean back on Earth. He could feel everyone watching him as he stood there, deep in thought, his eyes unfocused as his mind raced. There was something in the back of his mind, aching to be released. It was all starting to add up. But what was it? He closed his eyes as he thought, whispering words to himself, putting the puzzle together in his mind. His eyes shot open as it all made sense.

"That's it!" exclaimed Shepard, turning around to face the group. "The visions! From Eden Prime and the beacon. The Reapers wiped out the Protheans. The beacon must have been something… a warning perhaps? Whatever the case, we must tell the Council."

"They may not believe the Reaper theory, Shepard," stated Anderson, "But we now have evidence that Saren is a traitor. That is something they can't ignore. We must go to the Council straight away."

"What about the quarian?" asked Wrex.

Tali glared at Wrex behind the mask. "I have a name, krogan," replied Tali, her voice laced with sarcasm.

Wrex just laughed. "I like her already, Shepard."

"What about your Pilgrimage, Tali?" asked Shepard.

"Our Pilgrimage proves we are willing to give ourselves for the greater good. What does it say about me if I turn my back on this?"

Shepard could only grin. It was the easiest decision he'd had to make in months.

"Welcome aboard, Tali."

* * *

Shepard, and most of his entourage, were stood on the Presidium, relaxing for a moment, taking in the view of the lake, light shimmering off the blue water. It looked good enough to have a refreshing swim. Or even drink.

_I wonder if there are fish in there. Grab a rod and reel, sit on the bank, sink some beers…_

Williams was back in the embassy reception area, speaking to a man named Samesh Bhatia. He had asked Shepard for his help. His wife, who had been part of the 212, the same unit as which Williams was once part, had been killed on Eden Prime.

Yet the Alliance had not released her body. With a promise of help to an obviously grieving husband, Shepard approached a lowly clerk to ensure that Samesh could have his final wish for his wife granted. The clerk tried to fob Shepard off with stories about inconsistent wounds and that her body was being held for research.

That had infuriated Shepard, but he kept his temper in check. The clerk was only being told what to do. So, instead, Shepard remained calm, and appealed to the clerks' sense of decency and respect, that, as a human, it simply wasn't right to deny her husband the right to bury his wife. The clerk saw sense, and agreed to realise Mrs. Bhatia's body back to her husband.

So, Shepard stood on the presidium with a slight smile on his face. It was a good feeling, to do something right. And do it properly. No need to always go in guns blazing, though that could always be fun. And sometimes the necessary option. However, other problems could be solved with words and negotiation. Diplomacy. It was something Shepard had learned in his time as an officer.

No two problems were ever the same.

No outcome ever guaranteed.

Eventually he turned to see Williams hug Samesh. He then walked away, and Williams walked over to where they were all waiting. Her eyes were wet as she'd clearly been crying. She was wiping her eyes as she approached. Shepard walked towards her, laying a hand on her shoulder.

"Everything okay, Chief?" asked Shepard quietly.

Williams nodded. "Yes, sir. It's okay. It's just… difficult, talking to family. Knowing that everyone from my unit is gone. I knew Nirali. She was a good woman. She certainly didn't deserve to die like she did…" Williams' voice quivered as she finished.

"I know how you feel, Williams. It's the ugly brutality of war. We lose people we care about."

Williams could only nod. "I'll be fine, sir. Thanks for your concern, though. It's appreciated." Williams could only give a small grin as the pair walked back to the group.

"Where to now, Commander?" asked Alenko.

"Back to the Council. Anderson and Udina will be waiting for us. But let's walk there. It's a nice day."

"It's always a nice day on the Citadel, Commander!" chuckled Alenko.

Shepard chuckled himself. "Guess you're right, Lieutenant. Come on, we have a meeting to attend."

The group walked across the Presidium towards the tower. It was certainly less crowded than the Wards. Shepard knew the Presidium was the home of the Council, the embassies, their diplomats and well to do people. The crowds, the real atmosphere of the Citadel, was located in the lower wards. The Presidium seemed sterile in comparison. As they walked along, Shepard noticed a large looking… jellyfish? It seemed to be preaching something. Shepard walked over towards the hanar, wondering what it has to say.

"This one wishes to speak to all regarding the Enkindlers," Shepard heard the hanar say.

Shepard shook his head and kept walking. He may come back later to find out what the Enkindlers are. Shepard wasn't a religious man, but kept an open-mind about most things. Whatever the hanar had to say may prove worthwhile, at least. The group moved on towards the tower, eventually locating the elevator that would take them to the top. All six of them crammed in. Shepard thought now he knew how a sardine felt, particularly with Wrex taking up quite a lot of space.

Eventually they arrived at the top, and the six stepped out together, making their way to where the Council met. Anderson was waiting at the top of the stairs again.

"Udina's with the Council, presenting the evidence, Shepard. Come on."

* * *

Shepard and his crew were sat in a bar in the wards. Shepard knew he was sat with a slight, if not smug, grin on his face as he nursed his bottle of beer. How could he not be happy? If not ecstatic. Over the moon. Granted, his head was spinning at how fast everything was developing, but he could not help but feel a great sense of personal pride.

_Me. The first human Spectre. Holy shit!_

His mind wandered back to where he stood in the Council Chambers, on the edge of the platform, as Udina, Anderson and his crew watched on as the Council uttered the words.

"_Spectres are not trained, but chosen. Individuals forged in the fire of service and battle. Those whose actions elevate them above the rank and file."_

Shepard didn't like to think about it too much, but he was aware of the reputation he had in the Alliance Navy. Men and women back on Arcturus would hush slightly when he walked into rooms. Salutes were always that little bit longer, backs a little bit straighter, as he greeted enlisted men and women. He appreciated the sentiment, but still… Wrex had already mentioned that his name was known in various part of the galaxy, particularly after his exploits on Elysium, and Garrus also recognised him when they first met.

"_Spectres are an ideal. A symbol. The embodiment of courage, determination and self-reliance. They are the right hand of the Council, instruments of our will."_

Shepard wondered… now that he was a Spectre, how would that affect his role in the Alliance Navy? He'd just spent the best part of a decade training and working to be part of the N7 Special Forces. He'd barely been in the role a fortnight before all this had occurred. But, still, working for the Council as a Spectre was such a unique opportunity. He just didn't want to let anyone down.

"_Spectres bear a great burden. They are protectors of galactic peace, both our first, and last, line of defence. The safety of the galaxy is theirs to uphold."_

Shepard fought for one simple ideal most of the time. Protect the innocent. All he had to do was read the litany of wars mankind had fought for the previous thousand years to see that, too often, civilians caught the brunt of the fighting.

And, finally, there was his first mission.

Find Saren.

Bring him to justice.

Shepard had visited the Spectres requisition officer, where he was told Spectres had to pay for all their own gear. He had not been prepared for that, and was certainly not expecting the prices of the equipment on offer. However, the weapons on offer were of exceptional quality, so the prices did, at least, appear justified. Shepard figured he would just have to return late.

On their way down to the wards, Shepard had spoken to Emily Wong, a local reporter. He had handed over the disks he had recovered from Fist's office. Apparently these would expose corruption on the Citadel. He was happy to hand them over, and Ms. Wong was very happy to hand over some credits for them.

That was one thing Shepard now had in the back of his mind. Now he was a Spectre, he wasn't sure if he could guarantee Alliance help on a Spectre mission, though he still expected to be called on from the Alliance to help, if they had problems that needed resolving. At the end of the day, he still considered himself an Alliance marine. However, as had been mentioned during his induction, he had to be self-reliant as a Spectre, and that meant he needed credits. Lots of them. Particularly after his visit to the Spectre requisitions office, where he soon realised that he couldn't afford a thing on offer. At least at the moment.

The next stop for Shepard on the way down to the wards was, therefore, Barla Von. His name had been mentioned earlier by both Tali and Anderson, as the volus was a known associate of the Shadow Broker. Shepard didn't know much about who the Shadow Broker was, but knowing a financial advisor would come in handy. Barla Von was already aware of Shepard's presence on the Citadel, the fact he had just been made a Spectre, and was therefore full of information for Shepard regarding his financial, and other, matters. To a point. The two negotiated a price for his services, and now Shepard would have a flow of credits that should keep him going for the time being.

It was just after leaving Barla Von's office that he was stopped by a middle-aged woman, who introduced herself as Helena Blake. Apparently she had some sort business proposition that Shepard may be interested in. Shepard was polite enough to hear her out, as she was offering credits. Shepard was starting to feel like a mercenary. He didn't particularly like the thought.

"I'm acquainted with a pair of powerful crime bosses. They're hiding on remote worlds, and you'll be doing the galaxy a favour by removing them."

Shepard thought for a moment. Something didn't sit right in his gut. And he always trusted his gut. "And what do you get out of me taking out these two, Ms. Blake?"

"We have a particular working relationship, but their practices have cause me to re-evaluate that relationship. It is no longer workable. They need to be eliminated."

"So you want me to assassinate these men?"

"You're a Spectre, Shepard. These men are criminals. You will be giving them justice. These men are responsible for the distribution of red sand and have dealings in slavery. Surely you can see the need for these two to be eliminated."

Shepard thought for a moment. She had a point. It would be doing humanity, and the galaxy, a favour at the same time. Though the fact she was associated with these men was a concern.

"I don't like this, Ms. Blake. Something like this leaves a bad taste in one's mouth."

Helena looked ready to interrupt. Shepard held up a hand to halt her.

"However, you make a good argument nonetheless. These men are criminals and need to be dealt with. I won't just kill them in cold blood, though. If I can arrest them, then that is how I will handle it. Send the co-ordinates to my omni-tool and it will be taken care of."

"Thank you, Commander. Here are the co-ordinates," as Helena fiddled with her omni-tool, "You will find them there. I will send a third set once the first two jobs are complete. Goodbye, Commander, and good luck."

Helena walked off. When she was out of earshot, Alenko spoke up. "Are you sure about this, Commander? Something about that job offer doesn't sound right."

"They sound like scum," stated Garrus, "And need to be dealt with. The Commander was right to take the job."

"You're both right," replied Shepard, "I've learned to trust my gut over the years. Something about this job is off, but Garrus is also right. If we can deal with these two criminals, perhaps we can shut down a couple of major drug and slavery operations. Regarding Ms. Blake, well, we'll deal with her later."

The group continued to walk along the Presidium, past a krogan statue, where Shepard stopped for a moment.

"What's the statue for, Wrex?" asked Shepard.

"It was built after we were victorious in the Rachni War," replied Wrex.

"Who, or what, are the rachni?"

"Ah, long time before humanity was on the scene, Shepard. We fought them at least a thousand years ago. They were vicious, insect bastards. They had the Council races on the back foot. We were tasked with defeating them. And we did. Wiped them out. Hunted them down to extinction."

"Extinction?"

"Us or them, Shepard. Us or them."

Shepard only nodded before continuing to walk on. He didn't know enough about this Rachni War to make a judgement. He should read about that later. They continued to walk along the Presidium, and eventually came to another door. A sign stated it was the offices of the asari Consort. Shepard had heard this Consort mentioned at various places around the Citadel. He thought about going in, but thought better of it for the time being.

_Probably couldn't afford it anyway._

"Are you going in, Commander?" asked Garrus.

Shepard looked at the turian in surprise. "Er… I hadn't really thought about it. Why, do you think I should?"

"That's your decision, Commander. It was just that we're all stood out here, and have been for at least five minutes, while you stared at the sign."

"Oh… Er, I guess I could go down and just… check it out." Shepard looked at Tali, who had her arms crossed, looking at him, head slightly tilted. "I mean, we could all go. You know, as a team."

_Not very convincing there, Shepard._

"And just why would I want to visit the Consort, Commander?" asked Williams, with a chuckle.

"Hmmm… I really don't know…. I've just heard people talk about her, and was interested in what she may have had to say," replied Shepard, feeling slightly embarrassed, before shaking his head. "Never mind, though. Come on, let's hit a bar and celebrate."


	8. Chapter 7 - The Captain

The lights of the Citadel reflected off the hull of the _Normandy_ as it sat silently, still docked and waiting, in preparation to be flown across the galaxy on its next adventure. Dock-workers scurried to and from the ship, loading provisions as it was prepared for its next mission. With Shepard now a Council Spectre and the mission of chasing down Saren, the _Normandy_ had to be ready for whatever was to come.

That did not stop Captain David Anderson audibly sighing as he stood alone, leaning against the railing, looking over his ship, appreciating the sleek design, the paint scheme, just the fact it was _his_ to command.

Or, at least now, it had been his ship. He had already discussed with Udina what he planned to do. He loved the fact he was Captain of the _Normandy_. It was the sort of posting he had spent nearly his entire career waiting for. He had hand-picked his own team, choosing the best of the best to serve alongside him. He had spent years waiting to have Shepard alongside him. He knew the two were close. Certainly closer than most colleagues in the Alliance Navy. He knew the amount of respect Shepard had for him, ever since that first day they had met. It saddened him that their time together was already at an end.

Anderson wasn't one for emotion, he was usually rather stoic in his outlook on life, keeping most of his emotions in check. He couldn't help but feel the immense wave of sadness as he looked upon his ship, knowing he would never again be in the CIC, giving orders to his subordinates, leading the _Normandy_ across the galaxy on another mission, on behalf of the Alliance and humanity.

With one final gaze, Anderson tore himself away from the railing and slowly walked back down towards the elevator where Udina was waiting, Shepard and his crew having just arrived. Anderson had to tell Shepard what was going on. He knew he wasn't going to be happy.

_Keep it simple, Anderson. You believe in the kid. Let him know._

Anderson looked at Udina, whose face remained relatively impassive, as Anderson approached Shepard. The Commander looked back at Anderson, nodding ever so slightly. Anderson grimaced before he spoke.

"Shepard, I have some news. With you being a Council Spectre, it is time I step down as the Captain of the Normandy. And that you should take my place."

Anderson watched as Shepard's eyes first widened in surprise, before he shot a fierce gaze towards Udina. Anderson could tell straight away that Shepard was unhappy. And he knew that he was going to blame Udina. Anderson figured that Shepard had little patience for the Ambassador. He knew Shepard was about to explode with accusations.

Shepard spoke slowly as he responded. "Anderson. Sir. We've known each other a long time now. I think you could at least be honest with me. I don't believe for a second you're 'stepping down'. If this is some sort of political shenanigans, or if Udina here is twisting your arm, at least be level with me."

Anderson sighed, looking across at Udina, who glared back at Shepard. The feeling was obviously mutual between the two.

"You're a Spectre now, Shepard. And you need your own ship. It's really that simple. And it's time for me to step down," replied Anderson. He knew his voice was laced with sadness. It couldn't be helped.

_He's not going to buy it. Look at him. He looks like he wants to throw Udina over the railing._

Shepard continued to argue. "Time to step down? Forgive me, sir, but I can smell bullshit like that a mile off. We've already spoken of the pride you take in being Captain of this ship. I'm your XO, Anderson. If your hand is being forced, I want to know. I think I deserve that much."

Anderson looked again at Udina, then back to Shepard. He motioned with his hand for Shepard to follow. Shepard turned to his group, giving a signal for them to stay where they were stood. Shepard followed Anderson back up the walkway, out of earshot of the group. Anderson leaned against the railing again, looking over the _Normandy._ Shepard stood next to him, leaning against the railing. Anderson knew Shepard was looking at him, trying to read his emotions. He tried to keep his face neutral, but he knew his eyes and body language were likely giving him away. His shoulders slumped more than usual. He knew Shepard was feeling nothing but guilt, as if he was stealing away his command. Anderson had to placate his mind, let Shepard know that it was his choice in the end.

"Twenty years ago, Shepard, I was the first human Spectre candidate. I worked with Saren on a mission. I failed," explained Anderson.

"Why didn't you tell me, sir?" asked Shepard. Anderson noted the surprise in his voice. This was something very few people knew. Even the Ambassador didn't know.

"Embarrassment, more than anything, Shepard. What could I tell you? Your Commanding Officer failed as a Spectre candidate? It's not something anyone would like on their CV. 'Failed Spectre'. And as for not letting you know, Shepard, this was before we even met. It's not something I share with anyone. Most of it has been classified anyway."

Shepard could only nod. Anderson figured he would understand. The two men conversed often, but mostly it was about their current missions or training. Rarely did they speak of issues outside their lives in the Alliance. He knew they both lived only for the Alliance. There wasn't much for either of them outside of it.

"Never figured this would be how it would all end, though. Pushing papers for a living, stuck behind a desk. I wasn't one for a glorious death on the battlefield. But for it to end like this…," Anderson shrugged his shoulders slightly, sighed again, but turned to Shepard, laying a hand on his shoulder, looking into his eyes. "But I believe in you, Shepard. I always have. You'll catch Saren. You need the Normandy to do it. So I need to step aside."

Shepard grinned slightly, as Anderson removed his hand, leaning against the railing once again.

"So what happened between you and Saren?" asked Shepard.

Anderson thought for a moment

_I guess there's no harm in telling him now. The more he knows about Saren, the more prepared he will be when he faces him._

"It was nearly 20 years ago. Humanity was still the newest species on the galactic scene. And we'd already made waves, turned heads. Our conflict with the turians in the First Contact War had left an impression. The Council could already see how fast we may progress. So our ambassador, at the time, was trying to get a human into the Spectres. And I was chosen.

"Like with you and Nihlus, I was chosen to work with Saren. He would evaluate me, see if I was capable of being Spectre. As they said, it's a massive responsibility. You work alone. You make life or death decisions constantly. Humans are wired slightly differently. We want to save everyone, if possible. Saren, on the other hand…" Anderson gave a slight shrug of shoulders.

"So the mission went sour?"

Anderson nodded his head. "We were tasked with finding a rogue scientist, backed by batarian interests. Something to do with research into artificial intelligence, which is illegal within Council space. Alliance intelligence located the scientist and his team on the Chamala. Because of the AI link, the Council wanted a Spectre involved. They chose Saren, and chose me to support him."

"What was the plan?"

"Simple. Sneak in, get the scientist, and get out. Should have been a simple extraction job."

Anderson sighed again. He hated the memory of the mission. It was a complete disaster. Anderson blamed himself for all the deaths. He should have been more careful. He should have listened to his gut. He should never have trusted Saren.

"That was the plan, anyway. To cover more ground, we split up. About halfway through the job, the facility exploded. Officially, it was ruled an accident. My opinion, Saren caused it. Absolutely no doubt in my mind. The explosion tore the facility apart. Fires ran out of control, chemicals spilled into the air. Civilians, who lived on the edge of the facility in camps, were wiped out. Hundreds were killed. But that's the way Saren works. He has no problem sacrificing innocent lives to secure the objective. But, in the end, I still got the blame for everything. And that ended my candidacy."

"How did he pin the blame on you?"

Anderson couldn't help but give a bitter laugh before he answered. "Quite simple, in all honesty. In his report, he blamed me for blowing his cover, causing the explosion. And who would the Council believe? Their best Spectre agent, or the human who was new on the block? I should have been more careful. Ever since meeting Saren, something was off. Never trusted him. In the end, it cost me."

"For whatever it's worth, sir, I'm sorry. None of this feels right."

Anderson gave a small grin, laid a hand on Shepard's shoulder again. "It's all water under the bridge now, Shepard. It was a long time ago. But… thanks. And I'll know you'll do me proud. You always have. Come on, we should head back to the group."

The two men walked back to the group. Shepard had a couple of looks from his entourage, particularly Alenko and Williams. He just gave a slight shake of the head. Anderson figured there would be plenty of questions from them later. He was glad he wouldn't have to answer them. He wouldn't want to be in Shepard's shoes once they left on mission. But he was confident Shepard would deal with anything that came his way.

"So, ideas?" asked Shepard, his group standing behind him, looking eager to depart.

"Saren's gone, Shepard," answered Anderson, once again standing alongside Udina, "However, the geth are all over the Traverse. They are clearly looking for the Conduit."

Shepard merely nodded.

Anderson continued. "We have two possibilities. The first is a planet called Feros. There is a human colony there that has recently dropped out of contact. We believed that geth may be involved. Then there is Noveria, where geth sighting have also been reported. You'll have to be careful on Noveria. They fall outside Council control, but as a Spectre, you should be okay. Find out what Saren was after, maybe you can find out what the Conduit is, and what it does."

"And the Reapers?" asked Shepard, "We can't just ignore my vision, no matter how crazy it may sound. I feel it in my gut, sir. They are real. They are a threat. And they are coming."

"I'm with the Council on this one," replied Udina, "I'm not entirely convinced."

Anderson noticed Shepard scowl but remain silent. Anderson believed what Shepard had seen, but felt he had to fall in alongside what the Ambassador said. However, he knew Shepard and he both thought the same thing.

_Typical politician bullshit._

"But if they do exist," added Anderson, "Then the Conduit is clearly a key to their return. So Saren must be stopped in any event."

"There is one more lead," continued Udina, "Matriarch Benezia has a daughter, an archaeologist with an interest in Protheans. Her name is Doctor Liara T'Soni. She is currently located in the Artemis Tau cluster. We don't know if she knows anything regarding her mother's activities, but seek her out, and see what she does know."

"Remember, Shepard, you're a Spectre now. You don't answer to us. You can do whatever you want," stated Anderson.

"Just remember that your actions reflect on humanity as a whole, Shepard. I don't really need to clean up another one of your messes," said Udina.

"That's not my style, Udina. However, I am chasing a rogue Spectre, remember? This isn't going to be easy."

"Hmmm. You make a point, Shepard. Just try to keep the mess… to a minimum. Now, I have things to do. Anderson can see you off." And, with a quick nod of his head, Udina departed.

"Okay, Shepard. It's all up to you now. You have your team, you have your ship. Do us proud. Do humanity proud."

"Will do, sir".

Shepard saluted Anderson, which Anderson returned. The two men then shook hands, Anderson laying a hand on his shoulder once again.

"Good luck, Shepard. And I'm always here, like usual, if you need any advice. But you'll catch Saren. And bring him to justice."

Shepard just nodded. Anderson stepped to the side and stood near the elevator as he wanted to watch the _Normandy_ depart one last time. Shepard turned to his crew and asked:

"You ready to track down a rogue Spectre?"

There were a series of agreements, and with a final nod, Shepard and his crew boarded the _Normandy_. After a few minutes, Anderson figuring that Joker was carrying out a series of pre- flight checks, he heard the engines fire and the clamps detach from the side of the ship. Slowly the _Normandy_ reversed out of the docking bay, before it turned around and accelerated away. Moments later, it was out of view.

Anderson sighed and boarded the elevator.

His command was officially over.

* * *

Shepard was stood in the CIC. He was on the elevated platform, with the galaxy map laid out in front of him. He looked out across the assembled crew of the _Normandy_. He had requested that the entire crew come to the CIC so he could explain what was happening. The fact he was now Captain, in every sense but actually having the rank. That Anderson had been… replaced. And their mission. He knew there wouldn't be a problem. They were Alliance soldiers and crew. Members of the _Normandy_, the finest ship in the Alliance fleet. But, still, a little speech. A pep-talk. Some words would help smooth the transition. His own pangs of guilt, about Anderson, were still there though.

_This is still his ship. Make him proud, Shepard._

"Crew of the SSV Normandy."

Quiet conversation stopped. All eyes were now on Shepard. He looked across the room, seeing if he could see what the crew was thinking. Their eyes seemed…

Supportive.

Hopeful.

Full of pride.

"I stand before you now as your new Commanding Officer. Captain Anderson has graciously chosen to relinquish his command of the Normandy, to allow us to track down the rogue Spectre, Saren Arterius. The Alliance, the Council, and I, express our gratitude towards Captain Anderson in his choice to hand over command of his ship.

Our mission is clear. We are to hunt down Saren, to the ends of the galaxy if necessary. We are to locate the Conduit, and prevent Saren from using it.

For Saren, this is personal. His views on humanity are well known. His attack on Eden Prime, a human colony, was just the start. With an army of geth as his disposal, Saren will think he is unstoppable.

Saren will be proven wrong.

This is the time for humanity to prove its worth. Prove that we are a valuable member of the galactic community. Prove that we are a responsible species. Prove that we are destined for greatness, alongside the other Council races.

We do not stand alone. We are assembling a team, from species across the galaxy. Look around. You will see a turian. A krogan. A quarian. They have all volunteered to help humanity. Assist the Alliance. And help bring Saren to justice. It is time for humanity to finally realise that we are no longer alone. That there are those out there, of all species, who are willing to help us in our time of need.

Crew of the SSV Normandy, I have full confidence in your abilities. You are all a part of the greatest ship of the Alliance fleet. Let us prove to the Alliance, the Council and the galaxy how great we can be.

We must not falter.

We must not waver.

We must not fail!

The fate of the entire galaxy is in our hands.

I believe in you all. Believe in me, and we will succeed!"

The entire CIC erupted into applause and cheers as Shepard finished his speech. He merely nodded at the assembled crowd, a slight smile on his face.

_Not bad, Shepard, not bad. You could get quite good at this. Anderson would have been proud of that alone._

Shepard walked off the elevated platform as the crew slowly dispersed, back to their designated stations. He noticed that each member of the crew walked with their backs just that little bit straighter. Slightly more confident. He received salutes, nods of the heads. Most faces had a smile. They all looked… inspired. He approached Navigator Pressly, who was now his XO.

"Navigator, set a course for the Artemis Tau cluster. We have a doctor to find."

"Aye-aye, sir."

* * *

Shepard was stood in the armoury with his new recruits. Apart from a bit of action on the Citadel, he had yet to see how Wrex, Tali or Garrus performed in a situation where there was no back-up and they could only rely on each other. He figured Wrex could handle himself, being a krogan and all, while Garrus looked very handy with a rifle in his hands, and being a turian, they were known for their military conduct and prowess. Tali was a different matter, but Shepard thought she could handle herself, as she seemed rather adept with a shotgun. But a few minor incidents on the Citadel was a completely different kettle of fish to live fire exercises on the ground.

Then there was the Mako. Shepard had plenty of experience with a Mako air-drop, while Alenko and Williams would have also experienced them during their own training. The other three, though, would find it a rather interesting event.

"Okay, let me explain a Mako air-drop," explained Shepard to the group, "LT. Chief. I have no doubt you've experienced an air-drop during your service. Correct?"

A pair of nods.

"Okay. Wrex, Tali and Garrus. I'll explain. It is not always possible for the Normandy to land on a planet's surface. The Normandy is rather heavy, even for a frigate, so it is not always possible to land, and subsequently take off, depending on a variety of factors, two being atmosphere and the gravity field, another being whether docking facilities are available or not. To make infiltration and extraction easier, the Alliance uses a Mako air-drop. It's quite simple. Joker will come in low over the surface. The Mako, this massive lump of metal beside us, with the team inside, will be dropped out of the hangar bay doors. The Mako will deadfall to the ground, where thrusters will be fired to allow a graceful landing on the surface."

Shepard looked at the three faces. Garrus' eyes were wide with surprise, his jaw dropped slightly. He couldn't read Tali's face, but she was wringing her hands. Wrex seemed to have a slight grin.

"Any questions?"

"Sounds like fun, Shepard," chuckled Wrex.

"Are you serious, Commander?" asked Garrus, "Not even turians are that crazy!"

"Is it safe, Commander? I mean, falling to the ground in that," asked Tali, as she looked over at the Mako.

"Trust me, guys. It's perfectly safe. I've performed plenty of them, during my training and then during my service. I've never had a problem. It is a bit disconcerting at first, as the Mako doesn't actually fly. Call it falling in style. If the thrusters are fired correctly, you barely even notice the landing."

Shepard could hear Alenko and Williams chuckling away to the side.

"Okay, Commander, if you say so," said Tali. Garrus just nodded his head in agreement.

"Good. Now, the Mako can fit five people. So for this next mission, Tali, I'll want you alongside me. There's no doubting your engineering skill, so I need you on board to look after the Mako's systems and shields."

"Of course, Commander."

"Garrus, I'd like you on board to man the two guns. There's a rocket launcher, and a machine gun. Both pack quite a punch. You seem to have a good eye. And I want someone who can eliminate targets quickly and efficiently."

Garrus nodded his head.

"The Mako has two seats for infantry. Wrex, Alenko, I want you to suit up for this next mission."

"Yes, Commander," answered Alenko, while Wrex just gave another grin.

"Good. Right, we're still to locate on which planet the Doctor is currently working, so until we drop, you have a little free time."

A series of nods.

"Oh, and one more thing. No more of this 'Commander' this or 'Commander' that, from the four non-Alliance members at least," he explained, looking at Tali, Garrus and Wrex, "Alenko and Williams, I'll leave the choice up to you. I'm still an Alliance marine, but this ship is now captained by a Council Spectre. Usual rules don't have to necessarily apply. What I will say is this; I run a tight ship, and what I expect from my team is to do their jobs, to the best of their ability, and that each member of my team and crew shows respect to one another. Other than that, though, I will allow a certain element of freedom. So call me Shepard," he requested, giving his team a grin.

His team grinned back and replied positively.

"Good. Okay, you're all dismissed for now." The team made to break off. "Chief Williams, a word please."

The group dispersed while Shepard motioned to Williams to follow him. He walked towards the elevator, with Williams dropping in beside him. Silently they ascended the elevator and walked into the mess.

"Take a seat, Williams."

"Commander, please, just called me Ashley, or Ash. But… Is there a problem? Is that why I'm being left on the ship?"

"No problem regarding your abilities, Ash. I told Anderson before that I thought you were a fine soldier. That's why you're here now. However, you've had to deal with quite a bit lately, with Eden Prime. And then talking to Mr. Bhatia. So I want you to talk to someone."

Williams looked away from Shepard. "I'm fine, Commander," she said quietly.

"Don't give me that, Ash. What you had to deal with down there, what you saw on Eden Prime. It will eat you up inside if you don't talk to someone. So I want you to talk to Chakwas. She's not a psychologist, but she knows how to deal with soldiers who have suffered on the battlefield. I'm not ordering you, though. I'm asking you. As your Captain, but also as a friend, who is concerned for your welfare."

Ashley let out a deep breath. Nodded her head.

"Nice to know someone actually cares…" she said quietly.

"You're part of my team, Ash. I pride myself on caring for my team, making sure their problems are dealt with. It is something you, and everyone else, will come to realise. As I said, all I expect from my crew is their very best. Personal problems can be a distraction, so I ensure those are solved. You give me 100% all the time, and I will make sure you are looked after and rewarded."

Ashley smiled. "Good to know, Commander."

"Good. For now, Ash, you're dismissed. No pressure to go see Chakwas right now, though. You can return to your station in the armoury. But when you feel comfortable, go see her. Trust me, you'll feel better for it."

"I will, Commander. And… thank you."

Shepard nodded and smiled, as Ashley stood up and walked back to the elevator.

* * *

Tali was stood in the joint armoury-hangar, waiting for Shepard to arrive. He had requested his ground team assemble. Tali could only assume that they had arrived at their destination. She looked at her companions. Wrex was just stood in his usual position by the lockers, not appearing to look at anything, a slightly menacing grin on his face. Garrus was busy playing around with his sniper rifle, checking the scope and firing mechanism. Alenko was approaching her.

"You okay, Tali? You sounded nervous earlier, when Shepard was explaining the air-drop," asked Alenko.

"I'm fine. Well, okay, I'll be honest, I am slightly nervous about this air-drop. Have you done many of them?"

"I've done a few. Not as many as Shepard, though."

"Does he always sound that confident?"

"Not entirely sure, Tali. I've only known Shepard for a few weeks. At least on a personal level. By reputation, though, well… he is one of the very, very best. I can understand why they made him a Spectre. Obviously he has a great deal of self-belief. Certainly a lot of confidence. But, the good thing is, he's not arrogant. He seems to know, and understand, his limits."

"Reputation? What sort of reputation does Shepard have?"

"He's a war hero, Tali. A few years back, the human colony of Elysium was attacked by an armada of pirates, slavers and mercenaries. Shepard was planet-side at the time, on leave. The local defenders were completely overwhelmed. Shepard helped organise the defence, and he single-handedly fended off nearly a platoon of soldiers, when a defensive wall fell apart. He's credited as saving the city, and the entire colony. Though I've never actually spoken to him about it. This is simply what I have read, or seen in the vids."

"Wow," said Tali, awe clearly in her tone.

_A war hero? Why would he even request my help?_

"He was awarded the Star of Terra for his service. He's seen as a 'Hero of Humanity'. Frankly, I'm honoured to serve on the same ship as him."

"So he's a good man?"

"From what I have seen of his actions so far, he is, Tali. But this mission we're on. It will test everyone. But it will particularly test the Commander. Everyone's eyes will be on him. Some will be expecting him to fail. All of humanity will be expecting him to succeed. It must be tremendous pressure."

Tali smiled to herself, behind her mask.

_No wonder I already like him._

Tali's thoughts were broken by Shepard walking out of the elevator. He was already dressed in combat armour, a serious look on his face.

His mission face.

"Okay, people. We've found a signal on the planet of Therum. We believe that is where Doctor T'Soni may be located. We'll be dropping in. ETA for delivery, 5 minutes. Suit up and board."

Tali merely nodded at the order. She pulled the shotgun from the small of her back, checking it one last time. She was busy checking it over and didn't see Shepard approach.

"Tali…" he said, causing her to jump.

"Oh! Shepard, can I help?" she asked. She could feel his eyes looking over her again.

_Why does he keep doing that?_

"Sorry to startle you, Tali. I just wanted to make sure you're okay with this drop. I know you're concerned."

"I'll be fine, Shepard. But thanks for asking." Tali smiled behind her mask.

"Good. As I said before, I'll want you sat up in the front seat, next to mine. I will need your feedback on the conditions of our systems and shields, particularly if, or when, we make contact with any enemy."

"Of course, Shepard."

With a nod, Shepard walked off to converse with Garrus.

_Right, Tali, focus. You can't let Shepard down._

Tali continued making sure her shotgun was functioning properly, and her suit was in perfect condition, when Shepard gave the final order to load up. When all five were inside the Mako, he fired the engine and moved towards the edge of the platform. The planet of Therum was clearly visible outside the front window. Tali could feel her entire body clench.

"ETA 30 seconds to drop, Commander," said Joker, over the comm.

Shepard gunned the engine. He had a slight grin on his face. He turned to face Tali. She thought his eyes were alive. They appeared to shine brighter than usual. The grin went slightly wider.

_Keelah, I must be crazy to agree to this. And why is he smiling?!_

"Ready, Tali?" he asked.

Tali couldn't say anything, just gulp and nod. Her heart was also beating rapidly. She was thankful the suit soaked up her sweat.

"ETA 10 seconds to drop, Commander."

Shepard gunned the engine again, rocking the Mako back and forth.

"Now, Commander. Go! Go! Go!"

Shepard shifted gear and floored the accelerator. Within a second, all Tali could feel was the weightlessness of space as the Mako fell towards the surface. Her heart was rapidly beating. She was trying to stifle her screams. Her eyes were wide behind her mask, as the surface of Therum came ever closer through the windscreen. She thought there was no way anything could stop them plummeting all the way to the surface, leaving the Mako nothing but a smouldering wreck.

Just when Tali thought nothing would stop their continued plummet to the ground, Shepard fired the thrusters. The Mako eventually slowed to a gentle fall, and after only a few more seconds, the Mako had landed on the planet of Therum. Only a gentle bump gave any indication of the terror Tali had been experiencing seconds before.

Tali took a couple of deep breaths as she looked across at Shepard, who looked back at her, the grin still there, if not even larger.

"Now THAT was fun!"


	9. Chapter 8 - Doctor T'Soni, I Presume?

_A/N - Feedback! I love it. To answer issues raised, I've already deleted the character mentioned in the previous chapter, whose name shouldn't have appeared yet. You spend hours writing, editing and reviewing and still miss something as obvious as that. Idiot! The problem was that section I originally had in a later chapter, though it didn't really make sense to have it there, so I moved it to the previous chapter, completely missing the obvious._

_Phil, thanks for mentioning the repetition issue. I'll go back and change that when I update for corrections, but will keep an eye on my phrasing going forward as well, so I either use completely different terminology / phrasing, or just change completely how scenes happen. However, regarding the inner monologue / surname issue, Shepard is known by that name, and always refers to himself as that, so to me that, at least, makes sense. With Anderson, maybe not so much. I could have used 'Captain' instead! Most others will use their first name if a chapter is from their POV._

_Rogen, I understand what you mean about reading stories on screen. I usually read everything through my KindleFire. Easy on the eyes._

_Anyway, on with the show._

* * *

It was the moment that she always feared, working alone on dig-sites in the ass end of nowhere. She left a trail of footsteps in the soft dirt as she ran, her head down, her heartbeat thumping, breathing heavily, arms pumping, as she tried to put as much distance between herself and what she could only assume were geth. She carried her pistol in her left hand. It was cold for the moment, but had been hot only moments before, as the geth dropship suddenly appeared in the sky and geth units poured out.

Liara T'Soni was concerned. She had no idea why the geth would suddenly appear outside of the Veil, and of all places, on a planet that was primarily worthless, apart from the Prothean ruins that she had been investigating for the previous six months.

_Why would the geth have any interest in Prothean ruins?_

Liara could hear the occasional burst of gun-fire behind her but she knew she was leaving the geth behind as she ran towards what she thought was relative safety. She had also noticed a krogan battle-master working alongside, if not leading, the geth units. She had no idea why a krogan would be working with the geth, or vice-versa. It was a strange turn of events.

Liara turned her head as she ran. She could see the geth behind her, far in the distance. She thought she might just have a chance of out-running them. Escaping, though, was a completely different proposition. Her shuttle was parked up miles away on an abandoned space-port, and running there, in this atmosphere, would be impossible. As far as Liara knew, she had been alone on the planet. Liara was used to working alone. There were not many asari archaeologists of her age. Most asari her age were far too busy living the high life to traipse across the galaxy, rather than Liara, who enjoyed digging in the dirt, looking for information regarding a race that had disappeared 50,000 years ago.

She could almost grin to herself as the entrance to the mine-shaft appeared over the horizon.

_Just another minute…_

Up the ramp Liara ran, looking to her side to see the geth in the distance, the krogan lumbering behind them, shouting orders. The doors to the mine-shaft opened, Liara running as quickly as she could. The cavern she ran into was a treasure-trove of Prothean artefacts. She had been trying to piece together information on why the Protheans had just suddenly disappeared. What she had managed to find, so far, had been disturbing.

Two long elevator journeys to the bottom of the cavern had Liara fretting, as she was sure that the geth would be approaching, if not already in the mine-shaft itself. But, for now at least, Liara still had time. She ran into the large Prothean ruin that the miners had excavated in the previous year and started keying the terminal she had been using. She couldn't read the language, but had worked out, through trial and error, what most of the commands did.

The sounds of metal on metal, as the geth ran along the walkway high above her position, caused Liara to pause for just a moment. She knew she was now trapped, but there was an ace up her sleeve. She keyed the buttons on the console and pressed the command she knew meant 'Execute'. She looked to her right as the barrier started up and soon a see-through, near-invisible wall separated herself from her pursuers.

_What do I do next though?_

Liara just stood there and waited, her breath calming as her safety was assured for now. It would be a waiting game. She watched as the krogan exited the elevator and trudged towards her position, laughing to himself as he approached the barrier.

"Looks like you're stuck in there, Doctor T'Soni."

"That may be so, but I'm still in here, while you're stuck out there. Why don't you see if you can get in? I find that highly unlikely," replied Liara, a slight smirk on her face.

"Stop with the games, Doctor T'Soni. If you just co-operate with us, I promise you will be unharmed."

Liara chuckled, shaking her head. "And I'm to take the word of a krogan who has allied himself with geth?"

The krogan shrugged. "My boss thinks geth allies will prove to be an invaluable asset in the events to come. Your help is desired, and would be appreciated, at the same time."

"Just who is your boss?"

"I can't say. But he has seen things which have convinced the geth that their co-operation, with some organics at least, will be beneficial to their continued existence."

"If you wanted me alive, why were you shooting at me in the first place?"

"I guess the geth were slightly over-zealous in their approach. Now, if you've asked enough questions, Doctor T'Soni, bring down this barrier and stop wasting my time!"

"The only way I'm coming with you is if you're dragging my dead body behind you."

The krogan stepped right up to the barrier. "That can be arranged," he growled.

Liara stepped up to the barrier herself, looking up as the krogan towered above her. "Good luck," she said, before turning her back. She heard the krogan roar in anger, before turning around and walking off in a huff, issuing orders to the geth to look for a way to bring down the barrier. Liara sat down on the floor, only one thought now in her mind.

_I wonder how long it will be until someone else comes to this planet?_

* * *

"Contact! Geth dropship inbound, Shepard!"

"Direction, Garrus?"

"Coming from the south-west, moving away now. Wait! It's dropped something. Two packages."

"Can you see what they dropped?"

"Negative, Shepard. We'll have to take a closer look."

"Noted. Tali, keep those shields charged. Whatever the geth have dropped, they won't be friendly."

"Yes, Shepard."

Shepard steered the Mako along the narrow ribbon of ground that separated two enormous pools of lava. The drop had been successful and, so far, there had been no contact with the enemy. That was until the geth dropship that just flew overhead. And there was little doubt that the crew was now going to see some action. Shepard peered through the front-screen of the Mako, into the distance, straining to see what the geth had dropped.

"Garrus, can you see what they are yet?"

"Affirmative, Shepard. But I don't know what they are. Tali, I'll transfer what I can see to your screen. Can you identify what they are?"

Tali clicked a couple of buttons on her console to bring up on her screen what Garrus could see. "They're Geth Armatures. Anti-vehicle and anti-personnel weapons. Very deadly. Armed with a pulse cannon, which will cause significant damaged to this machine, and also a rapid fire machine gun. Alone, they can be taken out with sustained fire, with the right tactics. Two can, and will, be tricky."

"Garrus, get ready to fire that cannon, and blast any geth soldiers with that machine gun, if they appear. You're going to have to zero in quickly on the armatures, fire, then I'll retreat to a safe distance. I won't be able to sit still too long, without them zeroing in on us in return."

"Affirmative, Shepard."

"Shepard, armatures have decent shielding. It will take more than one shot," explained Tali.

Shepard just grunted in reply as he concentrated on driving as the two geth machines came into view.

"Garrus, I'm not going head on into both of them. Expect to fire broadside."

Garrus didn't reply, but Shepard heard the swivel of the gun, indicating that Garrus was ready to go. He looked across to see Tali still working the console. He wasn't worried about Alenko or Wrex, they were merely passengers at the moment. Shepard could now see the two geth clearly, both lining up to fire on the Mako. He knew the Mako and geth were both in range.

"Fire that fucking gun, Garrus!" yelled Shepard. He heard the cannon fire, and could feel the Mako rock back and forth.

"Hit!" shouted Garrus.

Shepard floored the Mako forward as two pulses flew by, barely missing it. Shepard then slammed the Mako into reverse, not wanting to stop for a second. He was counting down the seconds in his mind until Garrus could fire the cannon, but he could hear Garrus was also unloading the machine gun at one of the armatures as well. The geth were firing their own machine guns in return while they waited for their own cannons to be ready.

"Shields at 90%, Shepard," stated Tali.

Shepard merely grunted in reply. The Mako rocked again as Garrus fired another shot at one of the armatures. Shepard was impressed as he reported another hit. But then he felt one of the pulses impact the Mako, rocking it from side to side.

"Shields at 70%, Shepard," reported Tali.

"The fuck? That one hit knocked out 20%?" asked an incredulous Shepard.

"As I said, Shepard, they're dangerous," replied Tali, a smirk under her mask.

"No shit," he retorted, with a slight grin.

Tali looked up without saying anything, but grinned back at Shepard behind her mask. She was amazed that she actually had no fear at the moment. She guessed it was the adrenaline of battle. Plus the confidence Shepard showed was already rubbing off on her.

Shepard floored the accelerator again, trying to make sure the geth couldn't target them, but knowing it made the job ever more difficult for Garrus to aim and fire.

"Garrus, let me know when you can fire again. I'll make sure to stop."

"5 seconds, Shepard."

Shepard kept the Mako in movement, constantly accelerating or reversing, turning every which way, making sure the two machines couldn't get a decent target. The geth were firing their machine guns, but the shields were holding firm. The damage from those was minimal, at least.

"Tali, I only need a report for shield damage if hit by a pulse, or if it reaches 20%. Otherwise we should be okay."

"Okay, Shepard," responded Tali, as she continued to work to keep the Mako functioning.

"Now, Shepard!" shouted Garrus.

Shepard immediately braked.

Garrus fired.

The Mako rocked back and forth.

"Hit! One armature down!"

"Shields at 48%, Shepard. We just took another pulse hit."

"Oh, fuck this. New idea."

Shepard turned the Mako so it was facing directly at the other armature, revving the engine. Tali looked up from her console to see what Shepard's idea was.

"Um, Shepard, what are you doing?"

"You'll see in a second."

Shepard floored it, steering the Mako directly at the armature.

It fired its pulse cannon.

"28%, Shepard!"

_Keelah, is this man crazy?_

"It'll hold, Tali!"

With a crash, the Mako slammed into the geth machine. Garrus fired the cannon as the armature rocked back and away from the Mako. Shepard slammed the Mako into reverse, before changing gear and slamming into the armature again. Shepard reversed again, and steered the Mako to hit the armature at a different angle.

"Watch this, Tali," he suggested as he floored the accelerator. The Mako smashed into the armature again. Shepard slammed on the brakes, as the armature slid into the bubbling lava. Shepard yelled in triumph as he watched the armature start to dissolve and finally disappear under the lava. He started to chuckle slightly as he removed his helmet, taking a deep breath to slow the adrenaline flowing through his veins.

"All good, Tali?"

She just shook her head. "Shields at 25% but I can re-route some power and slowly fix the shields. That won't be a problem. But, Shepard, you are crazy!" she finished with a chuckle.

"It worked, didn't it?" he answered with a smile of his own.

_Well, he may be crazy, but he's right. I have a feeling I'm in for an exciting time._

Shepard turned his head to the three behind him. "All good back there, guys?"

"Shepard, I hope you know I'm going to have to mend the Mako when we're back on board the Normandy," Garrus complained.

"We're fine, Commander. Just, er, you know, try and keep us alive," responded Alenko, "And I think Wrex is having fun. He was laughing away during that."

"I'll do my best, Alenko. Now, how about we find this Doctor. I have a feeling she's in trouble."

* * *

Shepard stepped on the brakes as he peered into the distance.

"Er…That's not a Geth Armature…"

Tali looked up from her console. "That's a Colossus! I've only heard rumours about such things…"

"That looks like it'll be a bitch to take down," stated Garrus.

"I can only imagine what sort of damage it'll do to the Mako if we go in head on," added Tali.

Shepard sat and thought for moment. We need a diversion, he thought, something that'll take the attention of the Colossus while allowing the Mako to get in some shots.

"Wrex, feel like going for a walk?" asked Shepard, turning around to look at the occupants in the back.

"Commander, you're not seriously considering taking on this thing on foot," said Alenko, "It's madness."

"Take the wheel, Alenko. Wrex and I will be fine," replied Shepard, opening the door to the Mako and stepping out. Wrex got out of the back of the Mako, walking around the side to join Shepard as Alenko took the wheel.

"Keep your distance from the Colossus," ordered Shepard, "Wrex and I will go and get its attention."

With a final nod, Shepard closed the door to the Mako, un-holstered his assault rifle and started walking down the hill, Wrex falling in alongside.

"You sure have a quad, Shepard, taking on this thing while on foot."

"We'll just make sure it doesn't fire too often at the Mako. Look like there's some cover down there, behind boulders and what not. I find it unlikely our weapons will actually do too much damage."

Shepard heard the Mako accelerate behind them but kept his eyes on the Colossus as it came completely into view. He felt himself tense up with each step forward, waiting for the machine guns to start firing. He dreaded the first pulse shot to come his way.

"So what's the actual plan, Shepard?"

"I was thinking shoot at the bloody thing first! That'll get its attention. Then I was thinking we try and get underneath it and focus on one its legs, around the joint area. Hopefully we can take one of them out then perhaps it'll collapse."

Wrex grunted. "Not a bad idea, actually."

Machine guns started firing as the Colossus finally took notice of the pair walking towards them, Shepard and Wrex splitting up, moving to the side of the chasm they were walking down, taking cover where they could. Bullets impacted into the boulders they crouched behind, both of them being covered in fine rock and dust, but for the moment they were fine. Shepard returned fire, knowing his bullets would impact the shields but cause little damage in the long run. The blast of the Makos cannon, though, was music to his ears.

The pulse shot that was fired in return was not, however.

Shepard stood up and ran out of cover, head down, swerving left and right as he closed on the Colossus. He could feel his shields slowly but surely starting to fail as bullets impacted, the sound of Wrex's footsteps behind him inspiring him onwards. A faint glow appeared in the 'head' of the Colossus, Shepard diving to his side as the pulse cannon fired, though over his head, towards the Mako. Shepard looked behind him to see Wrex also standing up, giving a nod to indicate he was fine.

"Keep going!" yelled Shepard, turning and charging forward once again, gun now up and firing as he ran underneath the Colossus, Wrex following underneath a few seconds later.

"What now?" asked Wrex.

Shepard looked at one of the knee joints of the Colossus, checking to see where he could place his grenades.

"In there," he said, pointing at the joint, "I should be able to jam in a few grenades. Don't know if it'll work, but we can only try."

Shepard took out of his grenades and placed however many he could into the joint area, the armoured shin leaving just enough space for Shepard to jam at least four in.

"How long we do we have?" asked Wrex.

"30 seconds. Let's get out of here!"

The pair turned and ran, their backs to the Colossus as they ran back towards the Mako. Machine gun fire pattered to the ground around their feet, occasionally hitting their shields in their backs, a pulse shot impacting behind them. Shepard was busy counting down the seconds in his head, and turned around just in time to see his grenades explode, the Colossus shudder as its leg detached and then the Colossus collapsed to the ground. Shepard turned and ran towards the Mako, opening the door as he arrived.

"Garrus, finish that fucking thing off now!"

The Makos cannon thundered as it aimed at the prone Colossus, Alenko stepping out of the driver's seat, Shepard resuming his seat and accelerating forward. Two more shots from the Mako, and the Colossus started to smoke. A final shot from the cannon and the Colossus exploded. Shepard sat silently, sucking in breath, adrenaline flowing through his veins. He looked over at Tali who just stared at him.

"What?" he asked.

"You really are crazy, Shepard," she replied with a chuckle.

* * *

Eventually the team had to abandon the Mako and proceed on foot, a natural, rock barrier preventing any further progress. Shepard wasn't particularly happy about leaving the Mako behind, but he didn't feel like spending time trying to manoeuvre the machine through the incredibly small gap. So on foot it was.

Shepard was thankful that they only had to deal with Geth Troopers, with occasional support from a Geth Rocket Trooper, as they made their way to the signal. Continuous tech attacks from Tali and Alenko allowed himself, Garrus and Wrex to wipe out the opposition without too much hassle. The group of five were walking up a hill and approaching a mining facility.

"I guess that's where the signal is coming from," stated Alenko.

Shepard grunted in agreement as they approached the facility. Peering along his assault rifle, he noticed a geth machine he'd never seen before, upside down, underneath one of the walkways, which quickly jumped across to another wall, its eye still focused on the group.

But not firing.

Yet.

"The hell is that? Tali?"

"No idea, Shepard. I've never seen one of those before."

The geth machine then fired a laser from its head, directly at Shepard. The assault rifle in his hands immediately overheated.

"Shit!"

The ground then starting shaking, the team barely managing to remain on their feet. Shepard looking up to see the dropship had returned, and another package fell out of the sky. He groaned before giving his order.

"Take cover! Another armature!"

The group split up, taking cover behind anything available. Geth Troopers advanced on their position, which the group were able to handle with ease.

"Focus on the troopers and the hoppers, I guess we should call them. Watch that laser, they can overheat your weapons! Focus on the armature last!" ordered Shepard, while he stored his now useless assault rifle on his back, taking out his sniper rifle, which he trained on the geth machines that kept leaping from place to place.

Alenko was busy using his biotics, using lift on the hoppers to prevent them jumping around. Shepard was taking out anything Alenko could get hold of in a biotic field. Garrus had established a typical sniper position, completely unexposed while able to rain fire down on the enemy. Tali was busy working her omni-tool, continuous tech attacks causing mayhem in the geth lines, while taking out anything that got too close with her shotgun. Wrex was busy laughing away as he blasted away with his shotgun as well.

Slowly but surely, the five gained the upper hand as the geth soldiers were wiped out. The armature continued to fire its pulse cannon, but with the five in good cover, its fire was ineffective. Geth bodies littered the open ground and the armature was soon all alone.

"Tali, any ideas on how to take this out on foot?" asked Shepard, taking a breather on one knee.

"I can try and sabotage it. That may knock out its cannon long enough for all of us to get a few rounds in. I'd say 10 seconds, before it recovers. Alenko should be able to do that as well."

"You hear that, Alenko?"

"Aye, Commander. I'll be ready."

"Everyone else ready?"

"Yes, Shepard," responded Garrus and Wrex in unison.

"Okay, do it, Tali."

Tali brought up the sabotage option on her omni-tool, clicking various buttons. The geth machine rocked back slightly from the tech attack. It whirred and clicked as its weapons malfunctioned.

"Okay, Shepard, it's disabled."

"FIRE!"

The five moved out from cover and released a storm of bullets at the armature. The armature tried returning fire with its machine gun, but the rate and accuracy of fire was haphazard at best, the cannon completely non-functional, and the machine gun not much better. None of the fire was aimed at Shepard.

Shepard counted down 10 seconds in his head as he continued his rate of fire.

3…

"Shepard, its shields are down. One more sabotage burst should do it," shouted Tali over the gunfire.

2…

1…

"Take cover!"

The five returned to cover. Shepard sucked in a deep breath, adrenaline once again coursing through his veins, the sound of gunfire still ringing in his ears. He quickly checked around at his crew. They all appeared okay. Wrex was checking his shields, but he knew the krogan could take damage. They couldn't rest now, not give the armature a chance to recover its shields.

"Alenko, now!" he shouted.

Shepard could see Alenko key his omni-tool. He nodded his head at Shepard.

"FIRE!"

The five moved from cover. Shepard stored his sniper rifle, taking out his assault rifle once more, advancing on the armature, as he fired into the prone geth machine. He could heard his squad follow his movements. He could hear the sounds of shotguns, a pistol and a sniper rifle in his ears. Shepard could see the bullets penetrating the machine in front of him. He could hear the occasional ping against his shields, as the armature desperately tried to defend itself, to no avail. The rate of fire was far too much. The armature started to smoke and shake. Shepard raised a hand to indicate 'cease fire'.

The armature started to spark.

Soon it was on fire.

Then it exploded.

* * *

Shepard approached the asari. She was stood behind some form of barrier, most likely trapped, but appeared unharmed at least. He wasn't sure how or why, but she sounded like she was in trouble.

"Doctor T'Soni, I presume?"

"Yes. Thank the Goddess! Someone is finally here. I've been trapped here for what feels like forever. And forever is a long time for an asari. I'm stuck behind some sort of Prothean security device. I need you to get me out. Please! Can you help me?"

"How on earth did you end up trapped in there?"

"I've been working here alone for months, searching the Prothean ruins, when geth showed up. Unbelievable! Since when have the geth left the Veil?"

"You're not the first person to ask that question…"

"Anyway, I ran and hid in here and activated the Prothean defences. Which I clearly did. But there was a drawback I didn't consider. I could get the barrier up but the console to take it down is on the other side of the barrier behind me."

"Doctor, we need to speak to you about your mother, and her relationship with Saren."

"Saren? Who is that? As for my mother, I haven't spoken to her in years. Please, I will answer all your questions when you get me out of here."

Shepard turned his head slightly towards his colleagues, raising his eyebrows.

"She appears to be telling the truth, Commander," stated Alenko.

"I agree, Shepard," continued Garrus, "Although she could lie to get out of there, she would still have to deal with five of us."

"Do you know how we can get you out of there, Dr. T'Soni?" asked Shepard, returning his attention to the trapped asari.

"There's a control in this room which is controlling the barrier. You'll have to find a way to get into this room to deactivate it."

"Okay, shouldn't be too much trouble."

"But be careful, there is a krogan mercenary here. He appears to be in charge of the geth. They have spent days trying to get in here as well. But I am unsure as to where the krogan is."

"Sounds like that may be a job for you, Wrex," Shepard said, as he looked back at the krogan.

"Good. Finally, a real fight!" bellowed the krogan.

"Okay, stay calm, Doctor. We'll have you out shortly."

Shepard turned and indicated to his group to follow him deeper into the mine. There were one or two Geth Troopers and Geth Rocket Troopers to deal with, but other than that, there was no-one else around for now. Any geth resistance was quickly eliminated, leaving Shepard and his group to search for a way into the ruin where Doctor T'Soni was trapped. The group spent a few minutes searching the mine before Shepard stopped, removed his helmet and scratched his chin. His eyes were drawn to the inactive mining laser.

_Maybe that'll work._

"Tali, any chance you could get that mining laser functional?"

"Whatever for, Shepard?"

"Well, maybe if we blow a hole into the ground, we can go underneath where the Doctor is trapped."

"Won't that cause the whole mine to collapse?" replied Tali, clearly nervous at the idea of being trapped.

"Nah, she'll be right."

"If you say so, Shepard," said Tali, as she made her way to the mining laser, activating her omni-tool. She hacked into the laser's systems.

"Okay, Shepard. Firing in 3… 2… 1…."

The laser fired, blasting a massive crater into the ground below where Doctor T'Soni was stuck. As soon as it started, the laser stopped firing. Shepard whistled. "Well, I wasn't quite expecting that but… job done. Good job, Tali."

Tali blushed behind her mask. "Thanks, Shepard."

With a flick of his head, Shepard and his group walked down into the chamber and towards and elevator. He walked to the console and pressed one or two buttons that resulted in the elevator starting to rise. Eventually it arrived on the same level as where Doctor T'Soni was trapped. Shepard walked toward the Doctor, but turned his head to issue instructions.

"Keep your eyes peeled, we still have that krogan, and possibly more geth, to worry about."

The group acknowledged his instructions, weapons being kept at the ready. Shepard walked towards the other barrier the doctor was trapped behind. She turned around in surprise.

"Oh… how did you get in here?"

"Bit of quarian ingenuity. There was a laser that we could use to blast a hole that allowed us access. My colleague, Tali," Shepard thumbing back in her direction, "Managed to get it working."

"Oh, very good. You have my thanks. The console to your left should have a button that will release me."

"Alright, give me a sec…" Shepard turned and walked towards the console, and pressed the only button he could see. He turned to see the barrier behind which the Doctor was trapped disappear.

"Thank you… er…"

"My name is Commander Shepard. But how about we do introductions later. Firstly, how do we get out of here?"

"The elevator back there," stated Doctor T'Soni, pointing behind Shepard, "Should take us out of here."

"Good. Let's move."

Shepard and the Doctor walked back to the elevator. Shepard was about to make some introductions when the ground started to shake.

"Okay, what was that?" asked a clearly nervous Tali.

"The laser must have destabilised the ruins," answered the doctor.

"Okay, we need to get the hell out of here. Now!" stated Shepard.

A chorus of agreements followed. The doctor moved towards a console and the elevator started to rise. Shepard moved a hand to his ear.

"Joker! It's Shepard. Get the Normandy airborne and towards our position. Move it!"

"Roger that, Commander. ETA 8 minutes."

The elevator continued to slowly but surely rise to the surface. Everyone was tense. No-one wanted to be trapped in a Prothean ruin. In the back of Shepard's mind was the fact that a krogan, supported by unknown numbers of geth, were still out there as well. Eventually the elevator reached the top level and stopped. Shepard turned to the exit, to see a massive krogan walking towards their position, surrounded by a number of Geth Troopers.

_For crying out loud, can a guy just catch a break?_

"Be ready!" Shepard whispered to his group, his instruction met by silent nods and the slight movements of weapons being primed for action.

"Surrender! Or don't. Either way, I'll get what I want. A fight will be more fun, though," stated the krogan.

"Don't suppose you'll just go away and let us walk out of here?" asked Shepard, a smirk on his face.

"Afraid not. We're here for the doctor. We can take her alive. Or not. I don't really care."

Shepard just sighed and turned his head to the krogan beside him. "So, Wrex, don't suppose there's a chance you could deal with this asshole? You know, do your whole blood rage thing?"

Wrex simply growled. Or chuckled. Shepard couldn't quite tell which. "With pleasure, Shepard."

"Great, the rest of you, take out the geth!"

Four of the five split for cover, as Wrex shouted "I. AM. KROGAN!" and charged towards the other krogan. Shepard watched, slightly in awe, as the two krogan battled it out, knife to knife, before raising his weapon towards one of the geth. He kept an eye on Liara, who was down on one knee, surrounded by a biotic barrier. She appeared safe for now. The geth proved no match for his assembled team, a flurry of tech attacks and bullets ending their resistance quickly, Tali, in particular, taking great pleasure in blasting geth away with her shotgun. Soon geth bodies littered the floor, fluids leaking out from the numerous holes that littered their bodes.

The two krogan, however, were still hard at it.

"Need any help, Wrex?" asked Shepard, weapon raised at the other krogan.

"No, Shepard. This krogan is pathetic. A disgrace to our race."

Wrex, for his size, was as graceful as a battle dancer, as he left wounds all over the other krogan, who simply had no defence to Wrex's deft hand movements. Soon the other krogan was down on one knee, worn out and injured. Wrex quickly withdrew his shotgun from his back, placed it beside the other krogan's head, and pulled the trigger. Even Shepard had to look away from the scene as the krogan's head simply ceased to exist.

"Ha! Ha! That was a good fight. Thank you, Shepard," said Wrex, as he walked over to Shepard, slapping him on the shoulder. Shepard could only grin at the massive krogan.

The ground started shaking again.

"Okay people, we need to get the fuck out here now. Move it! Move it!" shouted Shepard, ushering his team ahead of him, the Doctor at the front of the line. The ground shook continuously as the six ran up the walkways, stones and debris continuing to fall around them, the walkway on which they ran shaking continuously and collapsing behind them.

"Move it, people!" shouted Shepard again, but he could see they were approaching the entrance. They ran as a group up the entrance hall, diving through the door, as a final explosion behind them knocked Shepard off his feet, causing him to roll down the walkway outside. Tali turned around and bent down to help up the Commander, Shepard nodding his head in thanks.

"Don't suppose we could avoid going down in mines for the rest of the mission?" he joked, as he walked with Tali towards the _Normandy._


	10. Chapter 9 - The Set-Up

_A/N - Just to answer a couple of points in the reviews. _

_I've never had a major dislike for Liara, phil. If you do her romance over all 3 games, it does feel rewarding in the end. However, the one thing I didn't like is how they almost push you into a romance with her in ME1, as if you're a broshep, they make Ashley start out as an undesirable space racist (though her character changes over time). The fact Liara is pretty much unkillable all the way to the beam is also annoying as well._

_Rogen, for your point about canon, I can't stray too far as a lot of my background to 'Promises' was simply based on choices in the 3 games. However, I'm doing what I can to be original and create my own universe. As for romance, well, I don't want to say too much unless I want to give it away. Re-read one or two chapters in 'Promises' and you'll remember how it will progress._

* * *

Navigator Pressly was busy working at his station near the galaxy map, pouring over the continuous data the _Normandy_ VI was gathering. He had looked on as Shepard had walked back on the ship with the krogan, quarian and turian in tow, while Shepard had the arm of a clearly exhausted asari around his shoulder as they limped past down to the medical bay.

_Another alien? Well, Shepard did say he'd be gathering forces, but still…_

Pressly had listened to Shepard's words when he took command of the _Normandy_. He wasn't particularly happy about everything that had occurred. He was disappointed that Anderson had relinquished command of the ship. He wasn't entirely convinced that Anderson had done it willingly, though he could tell the Commander wasn't happy about it either, so perhaps there was more to the story that the Commander just could not share with his subordinates.

Pressly was glad that Shepard was the Captain at least. Shepard was likely unaware that Pressly had been part of the relief forces during the Skyllian Blitz. He had served on the _SSV Agincourt_, prior to his commission as an officer and eventual selection as Navigation Officer on the _Normandy_. Pressly still couldn't quite believe he had been designated the new XO by Shepard, and was proud to serve the Commander.

But then there was the fact that, despite Shepard being a Council Spectre, the _Normandy_ was still an Alliance vessel, full of Alliance personnel and he simply didn't think that they needed the help of aliens. Pressly wasn't xenophobic towards the other races, except for perhaps the turians, he just thought that humanity could deal with these crises by themselves, without outside interference.

Pressly was still deep in thought, pouring over the latest data acquired, and failed to hear Shepard approach.

"All well, Pressley?"

Pressly turned, offering a salute to the Commander before answering. "All system running well, Commander. Just awaiting next orders."

"I've just debriefed the squad about our next movements. Anything I need to be aware of, Pressly?"

"Can I speak freely, Commander?"

Pressly watched as Shepard's eyes widened slightly, before he relaxed. "Speak your mind, Pressly."

"I listened to what you said when you spoke earlier, Commander, about the non-human species who would serve with us on the Normandy. But I'm not entirely convinced."

"How do you mean, Pressly? They have all freely volunteered to help us in our search for Saren."

"I understand that, sir, but I'm still not entirely comfortable. I mean, krogan's are known for being untamed warriors. The asari is the daughter of the Matriarch we are also trying to find, who is allied with Saren. And as for the turian… well, I have a long memory and remember the stories my grandfather told me about the turians and their behaviour during the First Contact War."

"Are you saying we don't need the help of those who are willing?"

Pressly shrugged his shoulders. "Humanity has done fine by itself for thousands of years, sir. Saren is humanity's problem. We can handle it on our own."

Shepard shook his head. "I disagree, Pressly. Never turn away help, no matter where it comes from. Allies will only make us stronger. Humanity will look better for it if we accept their help. I tell you what, Pressly. Talk to them. Talk to Wrex, Liara, Garrus, and also Tali. Get to know them as the people that they are, and don't judge them just on pre-conceived opinions. You may be surprised."

Pressly thought for a moment before nodding his head. "Okay, Commander. I will."

Shepard nodded, a slight grin. "Anything else, Pressly?"

"Not at the moment, sir."

"Good. Carry on, Pressly."

Pressly saluted again, the Commander returning the gesture, who then turned and walked out of the CIC and downstairs. Pressly returned his attention to the map to plot the next route. He thought long and hard about what the Commander suggest. I guess I should go and speak to them, he thought.

* * *

Shepard walked out of the CIC. He wasn't entirely happy to hear that Pressly didn't appreciate the help, but he could respect that at least Pressly was honest and told him what he thought. Shepard hoped his words may change his mind regarding the team Shepard had put together. With some free time, Shepard thought he may go talk to one of his new crew members. In particular a certain young quarian he found himself fascinated by. On the ride down, he mulled over what they could possibly talk about. They had made small talk at certain times since they had met, but he realised he actually didn't know much about her. Or quarians in general.

_Talk to her then, idiot. Then you'll find out._

The elevator door opened, and Shepard walked out. He could see Garrus working near the Mako, appearing to run diagnostics on the machine. Ashley was over in the armoury, cleaning out weapons. Wrex was simply stood near the lockers, not doing a whole lot. None of them noticed his arrival, so he simply turned and walked into the drive core.

Even after being on the ship for a few weeks, he still found the drive core an amazing feat of engineering. He stood and marvelled for a few seconds, and then realised Lieutenant Greg Adams, Chief Engineer of the _Normandy_, was watching him. When Shepard met his gaze, the engineer approached him.

"Commander, can I have a word?" asked Adams.

"Sure thing, Chief. What's up?"

"It's about our new member in engineering. The quarian. Miss Zorah."

_You had better not start off down the same road as Pressly…._

"Is there a problem, Chief?" asked Shepard, trying to keep the growl out of his tone.

"Not at all, Commander!" exclaimed Adams, "She's fantastic! An engineering genius, as far as I'm concerned. Her technical knowledge and skill is astounding for someone obviously so young. Give her a month, and she could probably run this department by herself."

Shepard smiled. "Oh, well, that's great, Chief. I trust everyone has made her feel welcome?"

"Absolutely, Commander. I heard your words when you became CO. I have no problems working with any race you choose to recruit. Quite frankly, I wish all my engineers had half the skill of Miss Zorah. Besides work on the core, Miss Zorah will also be able to help dismantle any probes or wreckage you may find during the mission."

"Chief, you've made your CO one very happy man. You have my thanks. I was just about to talk to Tali myself."

"No problem, Commander." And, with a salute, Adams turned and returned to his station. Shepard turned to walk to where he had seen Tali standing, prior to his conversation with Adams. She had turned around and was now bouncing on the balls of her feet, in quite obvious excitement.

"How are things, Tali? Settling in okay?"

"The Normandy is simply amazing, Shepard. How did they manage to fit the drive core in a ship this small?" wondered Tali.

"This is an experimental ship, Tali. A prototype. A joint human-turian venture. As far as I know, there is nothing like it in any other fleet," explained Shepard.

"Still, I had no idea Alliance vessels were so advanced. No wonder humanity has progressed so quickly."

"Oh, well, that's only in the past fifty years or so, Tali. It was only once we discovered Prothean artefacts, on a planet in our system called Mars, we managed to escape our own system. Before then, we were not so advanced. Just getting to our own moon was considered a major achievement at one stage."

"Shepard, last month I was aboard an aging vessel back on the flotilla, attempting to fix a fuel line with makeshift materials, just trying to make sure the ship wouldn't blow up. Now I'm on this… wonderful ship. I have to pinch myself. Thank you, Shepard, for allowing me to come along."

"I was delighted you could join, Tail. So… if you don't mind, I was hoping we could chat for a while, if you're not busy. I'll be honest and say I don't know much about your race."

Tali grinned behind her mask but nodded her head. "Sure, Shepard. What would you like to know?"

Shepard stepped over to the wall, turned with his back and lowered himself to the floor. He patted the ground next to him. "Join me down here for a few moments."

Tali chuckled, but copied his movements and sat next to him on the ground.

"So what can you tell me about yourself, Tali? For instance, your name is far longer than most human names. Even Garrus only has two names."

Tali wrung her hands ever so slightly. She never liked to talk about herself too much, but Shepard appeared friendly, and genuinely interested in wanting to talk to her.

"Well, I was born on a ship called the Rayya_._ That explains my name. Tali is my first name, obviously. Zorah is my family name, like yours is Shepard. 'nar' means I am a child of the Rayya. I will add 'vas' to that, with the name of a new ship, when I complete my Pilgrimage."

"What about your parents?"

"Well… my father is an Admiral of the fleet…"

"Really? You're an Admiral's daughter?"

Tali sighed. "Yes."

Shepard looked surprised. "Why the sigh?"

Tali shrugged her shoulders. "You have no idea of the expectations that are on my shoulders, Shepard. Particularly with my Pilgrimage. No doubt I will be expected to take back something of great worth simply because of who my father is. I'm just left with the feeling that no matter what I bring back, it won't be good enough."

Shepard thought for a moment. "Well, who knows what we may find on this grand adventure. If there is anything you find that you think may be of benefit, give me a shout and I'll see what we can do."

Tali grinned again. "Thanks, Shepard."

"I must ask something else. What are those tubes I've seen you suck on while the rest of us are eating? I always feel slightly guilty as we tuck into our food… thought, I will admit, what we eat isn't always that good anyway!"

Tali chuckled softly. "When we are not on the fleet, we mostly have to make do with those food paste tubes you've seen me eating. It's not always the most exciting of diets, but since we cannot take off our masks, we make do with that."

"Can you ever eat, you know, real food?"

"We can, but it's very difficult, and generally we don't bother, unless we're back on the flotilla. When we start out on our Pilgrimage, we generally make sure we're sorted regarding our food supply. Many places around the galaxy at least sell the tubes we require. There are thousands of quarians on Pilgrimage at any one time."

"Oh, so what about your diet then? What do you eat?"

"We base our diet on the same food as turians, as they share the same basis of acidic chirality as us. But we still can't eat their food without it being purified. If you didn't know, quarians are dextro-protein. Humans, and most other Council races, are levo-protein. Because of conditions on our live-ships, regarding lack of space, we don't keep any livestock, so therefore we don't eat a lot, if any, meat. We are effectively what humans would call vegan. Our diets are primarily based around fruits, vegetables and grains. Also our diets mean that food that you would eat would cause us to fall very ill, or worse. And it would be the same if you ate our food."

Shepard just nodded along. As usual, he was learning something new, and he found what Tali had to say fascinating. He found her voice... intoxicating. She could probably talk about quantum physics, he not understand a word, and he'd still listen to her talk all night.

_Jesus Christ, Shepard, snap out of it._

"So how does the flotilla survive, you know, on a day to day basis?"

"Life is hard, but we do what we can to remain independent. Grow our food and process our own fuel, for instance. If we can't do it ourselves, we will generally try and trade with the other races. Otherwise, we rely on those who return from their Pilgrimage, like I explained before. Sometimes they can return with an item that is critical to the survival of just one ship, or even, in a worst case scenario, the entire Migrant Fleet."

"I have to admit, Tali, I've only ever met one quarian, and that is yourself. So, what is quarian society like? What are quarians like as people?"

Tali smiled behind her mask at Shepard's continued interest.

_Why is he so interested?_

"As I've already said, life is difficult. Resources are scarce beyond what is vital to our continued existence. With no home-world, we are constantly on the move. We haven't been allowed by the Council to establish ourselves on another world. Therefore, everyone must contribute something to the continued progress of the Migrant Fleet. Our Pilgrimage is just one facet of that contribution.

There are seventeen million quarians left, Shepard. All that is left of my people. With such a small population, the bonds between us are strong. Each of us relies on one another to survive. Because of this, quarians are a very social people as we spend all our time together on our ships. Each ship ends up being one giant family, from only a few hundred to possibly a number of thousand, depending on the size of the ship. Although we have nearly 50,000 ships, personal space is scarce. Even the captain of a vessel is given relatively small quarters. Because of this lack of space, and limited resources, families are limited to one child. The fleet normally operates with zero population growth."

"I've heard of one child policies before, Tali. Due to rapid birth rates and an escalating population during the 21st Century, a number of countries back on Earth introduced such programmes, and we were based on a planet! If you don't mind me asking, Tali, I don't know why you wear your suit. Why do you wear them?"

Tali sighed. She understood why Shepard was asking, as he appeared genuinely curious, and clearly didn't know.

"Put simply, Shepard, generations of living in the sterile environment of live-ships has left us with next to no immune systems. Quarian immune systems before the exodus from our home-world were not as strong as yours, for example, as the biodiversity of our home-world differed to most other worlds. Or at least from what I have researched of our history. What you would call a simple cold could leave me in a hospital bed, fighting for my life. Therefore, every quarian is trained in basic medicine to fight off sickness and disease, plus our bodies are also implanted with technology to boost our systems, but only to a point."

Shepard was shocked. He didn't know about that. Now he felt he was putting in danger. And that made him feel guilty.

"So how easily can you get sick?"

"If I stay in my suit, I'll be fine, Shepard. If there is a breach, my suit is compartmentalised so the section affected is cut-off, and as long as I can stop the spread of contamination, and get access to medical treatment, then I may suffer a slight illness, but otherwise I'll be fine."

Shepard grimaced, something which Tali noticed. She knew what he was thinking.

"Shepard, trust me, you are putting me in no danger. I signed up for this."

"Are you sure, Tali?"

Tali smiled behind her mask, blushing slightly at his obvious concern. She nodded. "Yes, Shepard. I've had plenty of training. I can look after myself. But, thanks… for your concern."

_He really cares… but why? Maybe that's just who he is._

Shepard grinned. "Well, I should go, Tali. I've kept you too long, I'll let you get back to work. But nice talking with you."

Tali returned the grin as both stood up. She was slightly regretting that he couldn't see. "You too, Shepard. Talk to you later."

Shepard turned and walked out of engineering. He found he still had a grin on his face and that he was now in a much better mood.

* * *

Shepard had his team assembled in the hangar bay, next to the Mako. It was time for another mission.

"Joker, how far are we from Edolus?" asked Shepard, over the comm.

"We should be in orbit around Edolus in approximate 5 minutes, Commander," answered the pilot.

Shepard turned his attention to his assembled team. It was the same as he used on Therum – Tali, Wrex, Kaidan and Garrus. Ashley was in the process of receiving counselling from Chakwas, and was therefore inactive for the time being, while Liara was still recovering from the lingering effects from her forced imprisonment back on Therum.

"What's the mission, Commander?" asked Kaidan.

"When we were back on the Citadel, I spoke with Admiral Kahoku. He was trying to gain an audience with the Council, to no avail. He's concerned about a group of missing marines that were operating in this system. Scans show an operational transmitter on the planet of Edolus. We're going to investigate this transmitter. Hopefully we'll find the missing marines."

"Why can't Kahoku get the Alliance to help out?" asked Garrus.

"The mission they were on was confidential. Kahoku couldn't tell me much more. But I know Kahoku. He cares about his men. He's a good soldier. And a good man. And, being a Spectre, he asked if I could do him a favour. For men like Kahoku, it is a pleasure to help them."

"Why does that name sound familiar?" pondered Kaidan.

"He served during the Skyllian Blitz, Kaidan," answered Shepard.

"Ah, that's right. Did you…"

"No, Kaidan. I didn't," interrupted Shepard. He didn't want to talk about the Blitz. Not right now, anyway. Shepard gave Kaidan a look, indicating that topic was currently closed. Kaidan simply nodded his head.

"Okay, grab your gear and load up. We're moving out in 2 minutes."

The five crew moved towards their lockers and grabbed their gear, before filing into the Mako. Shepard started the engine and slowly rolled the machine forward. His eyes were focused out the front of the window, an intense gaze. Tali was looking across at him. She was feeling slightly concerned.

_Why doesn't Shepard want to talk about the Blitz and Kohaku?_

"30 seconds to drop, Commander".

Shepard revved the engine.

"Everyone ready?" asked Shepard.

Four voices of agreement sounded through the Mako,

"10 seconds to drop, Commander."

"Prepare to drop, team."

Tali held onto the arm-rest nervously. She had to resist wanting to grab a hold of Shepard's hand. She didn't think she could ever get used to this.

"Now, Commander. Go! Go! Go!"

Shepard dropped the clutch and roared forward into the sky again. He focused on his instruments, as the altimeter slowly but surely wound its way down. 100 feet from the ground, Shepard fired the thrusters to slow their descent. 10 seconds later and the Mako was on the ground. Shepard turned to check his team.

"Everyone okay?"

Garrus, Wrex and Alenko all stated that they were fine. Tali was silent. Shepard turned to look across at her.

"Okay, Tali?" he asked softly.

Tali could only nod her head. "Just something I have to get used to, I guess," she whispered back.

Shepard gave a slight grin, patting her hand at the same time. "You get used to it eventually."

"I'm not sure about that, Shepard," responded Tali, with a slightly nervous chuckle, "But if you say so."

Shepard shifted gears, and moved the Mako forward. "Anything on sensors?"

Tali flicked a few buttons on the console in front of her. "The transmitter is straight ahead. About 1500 metres."

The ground was relatively flat, with only a few crests and rises. The land was otherwise incredibly featureless. Mostly desert. Shepard and his crew were thankful for the relative comfort of the Mako. There was little conversation as Shepard kept the Mako on course for its destination. The Mako soon crested a slight rise.

"Transmitter should be just over this rise, Shepard."

The Mako crested the hill. Shepard brought the Mako to a halt as he could see the devastation in front of him.

"I think we found the marines," he stated quietly.

"Spirits, what could have caused that?" asked Garrus, mostly to himself, as he peered through the scope of the cannon. Bodies littered the area. The smouldering carcass of a vehicle was in the middle of the bodies.

"I don't know. I guess we should go find out," answered Shepard, as he shifted gear and moved the Mako forward. Slowly but surely he approached the scene of devastation. The Mako was about 100 metres away when the ground started to rumble. Suddenly, the ground exploded and what could only be described as a giant worm shot out from the ground.

"What the fuck is that?" yelled Shepard.

"It's a bloody thresher maw!" growled Wrex.

"Get us out of here!" shouted a clearly scared Tali.

Shepard didn't need asking twice, as he stopped the Mako, shifted gear and backed up the Mako as quickly as possible, as he watched the thresher maw turn towards the Mako and spit something at them.

"Watch it, Shepard. They spit acid," explained Wrex over the roar of the engine.

Shepard turned the Mako to avoid the acid while continuing to steer away from the thresher maw, which suddenly disappeared underground. Shepard slowed the Mako slightly, waiting for the next move. The ground rumbled again, and the thresher maw again rose into the air, this time behind them. Shepard shifted gear again, this time roaring forward. He tried steering left and right, but then he heard the words he already feared.

"Shields down, Shepard. We just got hit!"

"Fuck!"

Shepard roared the Mako towards the crest they had originally been sat on. He could feel the rumble of the thresher maw underground, but the rumbles were moving away from them, for the time being at least. Eventually Shepard parked the Mako back on the crest and sat there, the engine idling as he thought.

"Tali, I need you to work on getting those shields up. Now."

"Yes, Shepard. Working on it," her fingers a flurry of motion across the console.

"Guys, any ideas on how we tackle this thing?"

"We clearly can't take it from range, Shepard, it only comes up when we're in that area down there," stated Garrus.

"Don't suppose we can try ramming it?"

Wrex laughed at that one. "No, Shepard. It'll just squash us like a bug."

Shepard sat deep in thought.

_Could I justify sending my team out on foot? No, that'll only get them killed. You lead from the front, Shepard._

"Alenko, take the wheel."

"Whatever for, Shepard?"

"I'm going to go out there and get its attention."

"What? Are you crazy, Shepard?" asked Tali.

"I agree with Tali, Shepard. You can't take on a thresher maw on foot. A colossus is one thing, but if this gets you with that acid...," added Garrus.

"I'll be fine, guys. But the Mako will be a sitting duck down there. So, I'll go down there instead, get its attention and you can light it up from back here. Just keep the Mako away from the kill zone down there and she'll be fine."

There were more murmurs of disagreement from at least three of the occupants.

"Want company again, Shepard?" asked Wrex, "Been a while since I've faced down a thresher maw."

Shepard stopped as he opened the door. "Fair enough, Wrex. I'll be fine, but if you want to come, by all means."

Wrex grunted in response and stepped out of the rear of the Mako. Shepard looked back at Tali as Alenko was about to climb in the front seat, giving her a grin. "I'll be back before you know it."

Sucking in deep breaths, trying to keep calm, Shepard slowly walked down the hill, assault rifle in hand. Wrex was alongside, almost a smile on his face.

"Been a while since I fought a thresher maw, Shepard."

"You've fought one of these?"

"Yes. Back on Tuchanka. All krogan warriors must face down a thresher maw to prove themselves."

"No wonder krogan have a quad!"

Wrex barked a laugh at that one.

Shepard could see the piles of bodies in the distance, surrounding the burnt out shell of the sky-car. Next to that was a transmitter of some sort. Shepard couldn't quite figure out what that was there for. He kept his eyes focused somewhat on the ground, taking each step carefully as he closed on where the thresher maw originally appeared from.

The ground suddenly started to shake, Shepard struggling to keep his feet. He stood still, not knowing where the thresher maw would rise up from. With a roar, the thresher maw shot up out of the ground no more than 20 feet away, appearing to look directly at Shepard.

"Shit!" he yelled as he started to run, Wrex alongside him, moving backwards while firing his shotgun. The thresher maw roared again, and then there was the tell-tale sound of acid flying his away, sizzling in the air, Shepard ducking and weaving to avoid being hit. He suddenly turned at a sharp angle, and heard the acid hit the ground, sizzling away. He also heard the sound of cannon and machine gun fire from the Mako. With another roar, the thresher maw disappeared back below ground.

Shepard ran towards the shell of the sky-car, taking cover as the ground continued to rumble. Wrex ran and joined alongside. Shepard looked up and over to see the Mako driving along the ridge. His eyes were searching once again, waiting for the thresher maw to rise once again. The Mako continued to drive slowly along the rise, almost waiting impatiently for the worm to appear again.

Another roar, and the thresher maw was up and out of the ground again, this time focusing its attention on the Mako in the distance. Shepard raised his assault rifle and started firing, Wrex joining in with his shotgun, both of them roaring as they unloaded bullet after bullet into the face, if you could call it that, of the thresher maw. Shepard figured it probably didn't make a lot of difference, but the cannon fire from the Mako was certainly taking its toll.

_How long is it going to take to defeat this fucking thing?_

The thresher maw disappeared once again, Shepard standing and sprinting towards the Mako. He opened the door to the driver's side, Alenko looking at him in surprise. Shepard leaned in slightly.

"Garrus, keep up that rate of fire! Surely we'll have to knock it out soon. What do you reckon, Wrex?" Shepard turning as the krogan lumbered up to stand beside him.

"Couple of more shots from the cannon should do it."

Shepard nodded his head, before slamming the door and running back down the hill, the ground shaking under his feet as he lost his footing and fell forward. He felt a tinge of fear as the thresher maw rose up no more than 10 feet away, looking directly at him.

"Ah fuck!"

_So this is how I die then…_

Shepard got to his feet and just ran. He didn't care where. He just wanted to get as far away from the thresher maw as possible. He heard the cannon fire from the Mako and the roar of the thresher maw. He heard the sound of acid being spat. He had no idea if it was coming near him. Shepard ran as fast as his legs and feet would carry him. He ran back towards the burned-out sky-car, diving over the shell and crawling back on his hand and knees into cover. He took out his assault rifle again and started firing. He could feel the sweat pouring down his forehead into his eyes but simply kept the firing. Wrex was again alongside him again, his shotgun firing again and again.

Soon there was a roar, almost of pain, and the thresher maw collapsed to the ground. The Mako's cannon fired again into the thresher maw, likely to make sure the thing was dead. Shepard stood up, stowing his assault rifle on his back, and waited as the Mako drove towards his position. He could feel the adrenaline flowing through his veins, the sweat running down his back, sucking in deep breaths almost to calm the nerves. He'd never done anything so ridiculous in his life.

He started to laugh by himself. He looked at Wrex who simply had a grin on his face.

"Good fight, Shepard," he stated simply, Shepard just nodding his head in agreement.

The Mako stopped nearby and the rest of his team slowly made their way towards him, hearing the sound of his laughter and stopping almost perplexed.

"Something funny, Shepard?" asked Tali.

"Can we all agree never to fight one of those fucker's again?" he cracked.

Despite everything, everyone joined in the laughter. However, the laughter stopped as Shepard looked around at the bodies at their feet. There was something in his gut that was telling him that something wasn't right.

"Search the bodies for identification," he asked his team, "Alenko, with me."

Shepard and Alenko walked towards the transmitter. Shepard already had a bad feeling about all this. Alenko opened up the control console and started keying buttons to bring up the information regarding the transmitter. He soon confirmed Shepard's thoughts.

"Commander, that isn't an Alliance transmitter. This was a set-up."


	11. Chapter 10 - The Gesture

Shepard was walking out of the communciations room, having just finished updating Admiral Kahoku regarding the marines that his team had found on Edolus. Understandably, Kahoku was angry and upset, but still thankful to Shepard for at least learning the truth. He ended the call vowing revenge on whoever had caused the slaughter of his men.

Shepard stretched as he walked into the mess, checking his watch at the same time. By Earth standard time, and the time kept by the _Normandy _and all Alliance space-faring craft, it was near midnight. Most of the lights in the mess were now turned down low, but Shepard knew he wouldn't be sleeping any time soon. There was still a report to file, and he'd rather do it now, with the information still fresh in his mind. To his surprise, he noticed Tali sat at one of the tables, her head in one her hands. He approached her slowly, unsure if she was awake or not.

_Why is she still up?_

"Tali?" he whispered, as he took a seat across from the clearly sleepy quarian.

"Hmmm… Oh… Shepard, what… What are you still doing up?" asked Tali, lifting her head.

"I could ask you the same thing. Why are you still up? Why are you not in one of the sleeping pods?"

Tali yawned before she explained. "This ship is so quiet, Shepard. I'm finding it difficult to get used to. Ships on the flotilla are always very noisy. A quiet ship means either a failed engine or an air filter failure. Both are quite catastrophic when they happen, but thankfully that is very rare. Plus, it feels like there is no-one on board the ship. Ships on the flotilla are full to bursting, full of life as well as the noise. All the space I have right now is a strange feeling."

"Oh, I didn't know. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Not really, Shepard. It will just take some time to get used to."

"You sure?"

"Yes, Shepard. But thanks."

"Okay. Well, try and get some sleep. Go on, get into one of the sleeping pods. You'll feel better for it."

"Okay, Shepard, if you insist," chuckled Tali, as she rose out of her chair and slowly walked over to the row of pods, stretching her arms above her head, before pushing the button to open it.

Shepard stood up as he watched Tali walk away, making sure she actually entered the pod, before turning and walking into his quarters. He smiled to himself before he sat down at his desk and started writing his report.

About an hour later, his report written, and the general housekeeping a commanding officer has to complete each day, Shepard stood and walked back into mess to grab a drink before heading to bed. He was just about to open the fridge when he turned around. Tali was sat back at the table, her arms folded on the table, her head laid on top. Shepard just shook his head, smiled slightly but sighed, as he walked over to where Tali had sat down. He sat down next to her and looked into her mask to see if he could see her eyes. He didn't them at first, but they suddenly shot open and Tali quickly sat up straight.

_What's Shepard doing here?_

"Shepard!" she nearly shouted, clearly startled.

"Sorry to scare you, Tali. But you fell asleep in the mess. Again. I thought I suggested that you should go to sleep in one of the pods?"

"I tried, Shepard. But the silence in those pods is deafening. I just couldn't drift off."

Shepard thought for a few moments.

_Surely there'd be no harm….?_

Shepard stood up. "Follow me, Tali. I have an idea," he requested, as he turned towards his quarters. He turned his head to see Tali wring her hands for a second, before she slowly stood and followed him. He opened the door and walked into his room. Tali stopped on the threshold.

_He wants me to… sleep in his quarters? With him?_

Shepard turned to look at Tali, motioning for her to enter. "Come on, Tali. You need to sleep. A good night's sleep. I can tell you're exhausted. So there is no better place. Take my bed. I'll put some music on for you, so you have background noise."

"Shepard, I couldn't possibly…" responded Tali, as she still stood on the threshold.

Shepard just sighed and walked back towards Tali, grabbing her hand and walking her over towards his bed. "Do I have to give you an order, Tali, or will you do it because I'm asking you? Please?"

Tali smiled behind her mask.

_He does care._

"Okay, Shepard. I'll sleep in here. Thank you."

"No problem. Now, make yourself comfortable. I'll turn on some music. It won't be anything you would know, but if its noise you need, then hopefully it will help."

"But where will you sleep?"

"I have plenty of work still to do. When I'm done, I'll take one of the pods outside."

"But, Shepard…"

"No buts, Tali. I've spent the past ten years or so sleeping in pods. Another night is no harm done. Please, just take the bed. For me."

Tali couldn't say anything. His gesture was just so… extravagant. The captain giving up his bed for a lowly engineer? Such a thing was unheard of. Tali could only nod her head, lest she start crying if she thanked him again. She positioned herself comfortably on the bed, as she watched Shepard fiddle with the music system on his desk. Soon the sound of music entered Tali's ears. She wasn't sure what music it was, but she found it comforting nonetheless. Within a few minute, she found herself slowly drifting off.

Shepard watched Tali drift off to sleep, her bright eyes behind her mask dimming and finally disappearing. He grinned to himself as he grabbed a book from the small shelf that he had installed just about his desk. He settled himself into his chair, resting his feet on the bed, and had probably read about five pages before he was lightly snoring.

* * *

Shepard slowly opened his eyes. His neck hurt as he lifted his head to look at the bed. Tali was gone. He looked at his watch to see it was the middle of the morning. He yawned and stretched, as he stood out of the chair, cracking his back at the same time. It hadn't been a comfortable night's sleep by any means, but he didn't mind as long as Tali had one.

Yawning again, he slowly walked toward the door, stretching further as he walked. He was hungry, and needed breakfast. He walked out of his room, into the mess to see his entire team, minus Tali, sat there eating breakfast as they quietly chatted to each other. They all stopped and looked up at Shepard as he approached the kitchen, watching his every movement. Shepard grabbed a tray, loaded some breakfast, grabbed a coffee and walked towards the table, his team still watching his every movement. He sat down and made to start eating, when the first question was raised.

"So, Shepard, sleep well?" asked Alenko, a slight smirk on his face.

"Not particularly, Alenko. But thanks for asking."

"What about Tali?" asked Ashley, a clear smirk on her face as well.

"I don't know. You'd have to ask her," Shepard replied, not liking where the line of questioning was heading.

_Ah, shit, they're assuming things already. Dammit. _

"Well, we would ask her, but all we know is that she exited your quarters a few minutes ago, took one look at us, and ran off to the elevator. I can only assume she's down in engineering."

"Shit," muttered Shepard to himself.

_I need to talk with Tali._

"So what exactly happened in there?" asked Alenko, the smirk still on his face.

"Nothing happened, Alenko. Tali has had trouble sleeping ever since she came on board. I found her out in the mess twice last night, half asleep, so I told her to take my bed. I played some music for her. And, before any of you make any more assumptions, it was because she's used to having noise in the background. I fell asleep in my chair, and she was already gone by the time I woke up a few minutes ago."

Garrus was busy chuckling away as Shepard explained, while the rest of the team looked at their food.

"Any other questions or assumptions that my team would like to make?"

The team all shook their heads, all looking slightly embarrassed. Even Liara, who had not been on board that long, couldn't meet Shepard's eyes.

Shepard stood up out of his chair, hands placed firmly on the table as he glared around the table. Now he was pissed off. "Well, I guess I'd better go talk to Tali. No doubt she's probably terribly embarrassed by the whole thing. Which, if you haven't figured out by now – and I'm looking at you, Alenko, but all of you here can take note – was entirely innocent. Merely a captain looking after one of his crew. Apparently, the captain can't even do a nice thing without everyone starting to gossip like a bunch of fucking schoolgirls."

"But…" started Ashley.

Shepard just glared at her, and Ashley didn't continue, turning her attentions back to her food. Without a word, Shepard stalked out of the mess towards the elevator. He almost pushed the button to call the elevator through the wall, anger coursing through his veins.

_What did I do to deserve… _

_No… _

_No… _

_You caused this, Shepard. It's not their fault._

Shepard boarded the elevator, pushing the button to go down, and let out a deep sigh. Calmed himself down. This was just what he needed with everything going on. Gossip about the captain and one of his crew.

_Come on, Shepard. You've set yourself up for this. You like the bloody girl._

Shepard shook the thought from his head. He couldn't think about Tali that way. He was just being nice, that was all. The captain merely looking out for the well-being of one of his crew. Any captain would have done what he did. Right? The elevator had stopped descending, Shepard stepping off and turning towards engineering. It already felt like a route he took nearly every day.

_No wonder they're gossiping._

Tali was at her station, working away on trying to maintain optimal performance regarding the drive core. She had to admit to herself that she hadn't slept that well in ages, but she could still feel herself blushing, after walking out of Shepard's quarters, to find his entire team sat in the mess. She was embarrassed to be caught in such a compromising situation, and ran straight down to engineering. It was only place where she thought he'd escape the stares and gossip. She was now trying to concentrate on work, and not think about Shepard, when a cleared throat caught her attention. She turned around.

"Shepard? What are you doing here?" Tali looked at Shepard's face. He looked angry. "Is everything okay?"

Tali watched as his features softened, his eyes brightened, a slight grin formed on his face. That always happened when Shepard talked to her, she thought.

"We should talk about… last night."

"Oh," she said softly, and started to wring her hands. "Shepard, I'm so embarrassed. People are now going to think… things. About me. About you!"

"Let them, Tali. You, I, we, did nothing wrong. You slept on the bed. You know I slept on my chair. The most important question is: did you sleep well?"

"Yes, Shepard. I haven't slept that well in months. Thank you. But you just slept in your chair? You said you'd go sleep in one of the pods."

_I just wish you were next to me… Keelah, did I just think that…_

Shepard just shrugged his shoulders. "I'm fine. All that matters to me is that you had a decent nights rest. Regarding the other thing, I will make sure any gossip about you is stopped immediately."

"But…"

"Trust me, Tali. You will hear nothing. And if you do, be sure to let me know."

Tali nodded her head. "Okay."

"And… if you need a good night's sleep again, you let me know about that as well."

Tali looked up to see Shepard smirk. "But Shepard…"

_He'd like me in his room again? But why?_

"Tali, if you can sleep in the pods going forward without a problem, then great. But if you have trouble, you let me know. Captain's orders."

Tali smiled behind her mask. "Okay, Shepard, if I have trouble again, I'll come talk to you."

"Good. Right, glad that is sorted. I'll let you get on with your work. I'll talk to you later, Tali."

"Okay, talk to you later, Shepard."

* * *

Kaidan Alenko was sat alone at one of the tables in the mess, his head in his hands, fingers rubbing his temple. It was late and the lights were turned down. Just the way he liked it when a migraine occurred. He was used to these migraines. He almost laughed when the thought crossed his mind. Used to migraines? How on earth do you get used to this? Then again, Alenko was thankful that he only suffered migraines, one of many symptoms biotics such as himself could have suffered due to their eezo exposure. Alenko knew he was one of the lucky ones. A large percentage of those exposed were already dead, having suffered all manner of health problems. The majority suffered cancer, while a minority eventually suffered mental health issues. Basically, they went crazy.

"You okay, Alenko?" asked a voice.

Alenko opened his eyes in surprise, continuing to rub his temple with his fingers, as he looked up through squinted eyes to see Shepard looking down at him, concern written on his face. "Yeah, Commander, I'm okay. Just have a migraine. Just something I have to put up with, unfortunately."

"You have to 'put' up with migraines? Why is that?"

"It's a long story, Commander. Not sure if you want to hear all the details."

Alenko stayed silent as Shepard took a seat across the table from him. "Come on, Alenko, you should know me well enough by now. If something is affecting you, I'd like to know. I have details about you on your file, but you know I like to talk to people to understand what makes them tick."

Alenko grinned as he sat back slightly, one hand still rubbing his temple as he looked across the table at Shepard. "Fair enough, Commander. It's do with my biotic implant. Not sure if you know much about human biotics. I'm not sure what they have in my file."

Shepard shook his head. "Not a lot, Alenko. Just the basics."

"Anyway, I have what is called an L2 implant, which, while letting me wield powerful mass effect fields, which I'm sure you've noticed already, it does have a number of drawbacks. My migraines are actually quite a minor drawback. Many biotics with L2 implants suffered all sorts of neurological problems."

"Is there anything you can do? Perhaps a new implant?"

"There are L3 implants available, but I'd rather stick with the L2, and the side-effects. L3 implants don't have the same power, plus the operation to switch the implants could end up leaving me brain damaged anyway."

"Does the biotic talent come naturally, like asari, or did you did you train?"

"I was sent to brain camp. Oh, sorry, the name was Biotic Acclimation and Temperance Training Centre, or BAaT for short. It was located at Jump Zero."

Shepard raised an eyebrow. "Since when is there biotic training on Gargarin Station? I know it's a research station, but I've never heard of this."

"Oh, this was years ago, Commander. I believe BAaT was shut down a long time ago by the Alliance after some… incidents. I believe it's all classified by the Alliance now. Most of it was rather embarrassing for them at the time."

"Mind talking more about it, Alenko? I don't know much, if anything, about this. Particularly if it's classified."

"Ask away, Commander. I'm an open book. Nothing to hide."

"So what was it like, the training? If it was anything like my Special Force training, then it would have been hell."

"Hmmm… Think of it like this. You discover you've had eezo exposure as a child, possibly in the womb, and you suddenly discover you may have hidden biotic talents. Well, you either had that, or developed brain cancer. I was lucky. Anyway, if you survived exposure, you come home from school one day to find men in suits waiting for you. Next thing you know, you're millions of miles from home, stuck on a sterile, boring space station, surrounded by a bunch of other kids scared to their wits end, with what can only be described as turian mercenaries making your life a living hell."

"Turian mercenaries? Sounds like hell to me, too."

Alenko shrugged his shoulders. "Some of us managed to survive. Conditions could be brutal, but we stuck together. The worst part was the isolation. The station was deliberately kept off the extranet to prevent leaks. We couldn't even speak to our families."

"How was the training itself?"

Alenko was silent for a moment. Shepard sat silently as Alenko thought. How much could Alenko say? Everything that had happened was classified, although Alenko had not signed any confidentiality clauses. As far as he was concerned, he could share whatever he wanted.

"Brutal, in all honesty, Commander. Conatix, the firm that was in charge of finding biotics, were pushing for results. Apparently they were not good enough, for the amount of funding they were putting in, so they hired a bunch of turians. Ex-military. One such turian, Commander Vyrnnus, was straight out of the First Contact War. Hated humans. Hated us kids as well. He made our lives hell. Some kids wilted. Some kids died."

Shepard's eyes widened in surprise. "Jesus Christ, Alenko. How on earth did you survive that?"

Alenko sighed. "I made a mistake. I fought back."

"Fighting back was a mistake? How or why is that?"

"A girl. Her name was Rahna. She was beautiful, Commander. She was smart, intelligent. Everyone liked her. I liked her… a lot."

"She sounds special. What happened?"

"Vyrnnus was on his usual war-path. Demanded that we only use biotics in his presence. Rahna was a good biotic, as good as anyone else there, but after hours of practice, everyone was tired. She made the mistake of using her hand to grab a glass of water, instead of her biotics. Vyrnnus broke her arm. I… reacted."

Shepard stayed silent, just indicating for Alenko to continue.

"I just saw red, Commander. I charged at Vyrnnus, doing anything I could to protect Rahna from any more pain, while just trying to stop him. Vyrnnus went mad, hitting me with everything he had in his armoury. He rained blows down on me, launched all manner of biotic attacks. I could feel myself wilting. I didn't want to attack him, I merely defended myself as best as I could. But in the end, he pulled a knife on me. As soon as he did that, it was either me or him. Life or death. I made sure it was him. I just surged my biotics into one massive kick. Broke his neck. There endeth the lesson."

Shepard let out a quiet whistle. Alenko tried to keep his expression neutral. What he was explaining to the Commander was the short version of what happened. He remembered every little detail of that day – the sounds, the smells. What people were wearing. The conversations that took place. And he remembered every single moment of the fight. He remembered the fear he felt deep inside as Vyrnnus attacked him. He remembered the rage building inside as he looked at Rahna, pain etched across her face. In the end, could he admit that he had taken great pleasure in having killed Vyrnnus?

"Was Rahna okay?"

Alenko sighed again, before shaking his head. "She was okay, but she was afraid. She was afraid of me. I was only protecting her, but she watched me kill another person. To her, I was no better than Vyrnnus. Once BAaT was shut down, we were all sent back home. And I never heard from her again."

Alenko sighed as the sadness overwhelmed him. Rahna was the first girl he'd ever fallen in love with. The one question he had always asked himself was – had she felt the same way before everything happened?

"Once I left BAaT, I spent a couple of years 'finding myself', you know, travelling the world, doing some soul-searching after everything that happened. Then I decided to join up with the Alliance. Wanted to serve humanity. Do something worthwhile with my life. I'd already had the biotic training at BAaT, so joining the military itself wasn't such as large step."

"When did you join up?"

"Oh, about 12 or so years ago now. The Alliance are always keen for biotics to join the service. With my additional engineering skills, I was accepted almost immediately. I slowly made my way up the ranks, earned some commendations. I was transferred to the Normandy as soon as Anderson was made captain. Not long before you arrived, actually."

"Any family?"

"My father served in the Alliance. He's retired now. Lives back on Earth. My mother… passed on. I avoided the cancer from the eezo exposure. It caught up with her eventually."

"I'm sorry, Alenko."

"Thanks, Commander. But like everything in my life, it's been dealt with."

The two sat quietly for a moment, before Alenko saw Shepard grin ever so slightly.

"So what's going on between you and Ashley?"

Alenko raised his eyebrows, surprised by the question. "What are you talking about, Commander?"

Shepard just shrugged his shoulders. "You two just seem to be getting along well. Very well."

"We're just friends, Commander. We know the rules about fraternisation."

Shepard sat silent for a moment before continuing. "Well, think of it like this, Alenko. Technically, this is still an Alliance vessel. However, it is currently captained by a Council Spectre. Now, this Council Spectre may have different rules to those of the Alliance. I'll leave it at that."

Alenko sat silent for a moment. Sure, Ashley was a nice girl. He certainly found her attractive. But a relationship? Probably wouldn't work. But Alenko just gave a brief nod to his Commander. You never know what could happen.

"What about yourself, Commander? You've been getting to know all of us. But I don't think any of us know much about you, apart from what we've seen in the news regarding your exploits."

Shepard shrugged his shoulders. "There isn't much to tell, Alenko. I was born on Earth, I joined up when I was 18, served ever since."

Alenko was surprised by the short answer. "Surely there's more, though? What about family? Any loved ones back home?"

"No," Shepard said bluntly.

Alenko sat back, slightly surprised at the blunt answer. He knew Shepard didn't talk much about himself, if at all. He already realised he was uncomfortable with the hero worship he received from most of the Alliance. But now Alenko was intrigued. Just what was in Shepard's past that he didn't want to reveal? Alenko just stared at his Commander, the question remaining unsaid. He watched as Shepard lowered his eyes and sighing before he answered.

"I'm an orphan, Alenko. I don't know who my parents are. I don't have any family. I have nothing but the service."

Alenko knew he looked surprised. "Oh, I'm sorry, Commander, I didn't know."

"No-one does. And, if you don't mind, I'd rather you keep that to yourself."

"Of course, Commander. But…"

Shepard raised a hand to interrupt. "Listen, Alenko. I like to know about my crew because I like to know what makes them tick. I like to know their problems, because if I can help them, then their minds will be 100% on the job. As for my personal stuff, I simply don't like to discuss it. Particularly anything of my life back on Earth. There is nothing to tell. And it has never affected my performance as a soldier. Just… drop it. Please."

Alenko didn't say anything else. He just nodded to finish the conversation.

"Okay, Alenko. Why don't you go get some rest? I know migraines can suck. I want you fighting fit for when we reach Noveria."

"Sure thing, Commander. The darkness always helps. I'll talk to you later."

With another nod, Alenko stood and walked up the stairs towards the pods. Before getting in the pod, he turned to look back at Shepard, who simply sat there alone in the darkness, apparently lost in thought.


	12. Chapter 11 - Port Hanshan

_A/N – I've re-written the following chapters a couple of times. The first was simply a Shepard POV of the mission. Boring! Then I changed it, so it focused on different POVs. But that didn't work either, as all I really did is change some names around. So I started again with a blank slate. Now I have a few different POVs over the next few chapters. I__ increased Noveria from 2 to 3 chapters, adding more detail and banter etc. It felt too rushed in only 2. As I also said in earlier chapters, I change little things every now and then to match the Shepard character I'm trying to create._

* * *

Liara stared at the blank seen in front of her. She was in her usual position, the small room located behind Chakwas' med-bay. She was feeling fit and healthy after her ordeal on Therum, but it was the revelations the Commander had revealed – his joining with the beacon and the information it left behind in his mind – that had left her rather shaken. Liara was impressed that the Commander had managed to survive his encounter with the beacon, and had told him as much, though all he did was shrug his shoulders and say it was nothing special. She was still thinking about the Commander when a voice interrupted her thoughts.

"How are you, Liara?"

Liara turned to see Shepard leaning against the door frame, arms crossed against his chest.

"I'm very well, Shepard. I'm just trying to gather my thoughts and write a report on what we've learned so far, about the Reapers, and the Protheans but, as you can see," as Liara gestured to the blank screen behind her, "I haven't got very far."

"Is something on your mind?" asked Shepard, as he walked into the room and took a seat, gesturing for Liara to join him.

"Well, yes, Shepard. Concern, more than anything. From what we've learned to far, the Protheans were an incredibly advanced race that managed to cause the complete extinction of them 50,000 years ago. Now we have the task of preventing Saren from unleashing them once again on the galaxy. What happens if we fail? What happens to the galaxy?"

"I'm not thinking that far ahead yet, Liara. From what we've learned so far, there is still plenty that Saren must do before we even have to contemplate the return of the Reapers. And we'll stop him before that can happen.

"We may stop Saren, Shepard, but about the Reapers?"

"We stop Saren first, Liara. The Reapers? I'm not so sure. I know they exist. I know what I've seen. At least from the bits and pieces in my mind I've managed to make sense of. Whatever the case, we'll prepare ourselves. And stop them, too."

"Are you always so confident, Shepard?"

Liara watched Shepard smirk ever so slightly. "I have to be, Liara. I am 'The Commander' after all."

Liara grinned back. "Was there something you wanted, Shepard, or did you just come in to check up on me?"

"Ah, yes. We're not far from Noveria. I would like to make you part of my team for the next mission. Now I'm more than aware of asari biotic talents, most humans are. But do you have any military training?"

"Not officially, but my mother made sure I was sufficiently trained when I was younger, Shepard."

"Excellent. Would you feel comfortable being part of my team on mission? I don't want to throw you in the deep end, Liara."

Liara grinned. "I appreciate your concern, Shepard, but I believe I can handle myself. I could even prove to be an asset on mission, particularly if I combine my own talents with Alenko."

"Great. Just what I wanted to hear. I'll give you a heads up before we get to Noveria then."

"Anything else, Shepard?"

"No, Liara, I'll leave you to it for now."

Liara just nodded as Shepard stood and walked out of the room. She turned back to her screen and thought for a moment. Then her fingers started dancing across the keyboard.

* * *

If there was one thing Ashley knew she could do perfectly, it was disassemble, then reassemble, a rifle. She knew she could do it blind-folded, under enemy fire with an arm behind her back. It was something you learned in the earliest days of basic training. Love your rifle. Treat it like an extension of yourself. One day, it will save your life. The words of her first instructor rang in her ears every time she checked over her own, or someone else's, weapon.

Being able to clean out and repair weapons absent-mindedly, Ashley found her mind wandering over what she had been discussing with Chakwas over the past few days. Chakwas was no psychologist, and told Ashley as much. As Shepard had said, she was simply someone to talk to, perhaps give her some guidance. She hadn't just discussed Eden Prime with Chakwas, there was also the family name, and the reputation that came with it. Both Chakwas and Shepard had mentioned their surprise at her still only being Gunnery Chief. Once Ashley had mentioned who her grandfather was, it all clicked into place. There was resentment about how her father was treated by the Alliance, but she still happily served, despite her own lack of progression.

Ashley simply sighed and continued with her work, almost taking no notice of the cleared throat behind her. She turned to see Shepard behind her, standing straight with hands behind his back. She snapped off a quick salute.

"Commander."

"Chief. Chakwas has given me a quick debrief. I take it you're feeling much better about things?"

Ashley nodded. "It was good to talk about, well, everything, Commander. Thanks for your advice."

Shepard grinned slightly. "Thanks for taking it, Ash. Figured it would do some good."

"So, Commander, just come by to check up on me?"

"Wanted to make sure you're okay, Ash. Plus, we're not far out from Noveria and I want you on my team for the next mission."

"I believe I'm ready, sir, for whatever you throw my way."

"Good to hear, Ash. Liara will also be coming on mission as well, as well as Tali and Wrex."

Ashley was silent for a moment, failing to meet Shepard's eyes. Ashley didn't mind working with the aliens on board the _Normandy_, though she had already told Shepard of her concern about them poking about what could be considered classified information. Shepard appeared to pick up on her concern immediately.

"Something on your mind, Ash?"

Ashley took a breath before asking the question, concerned at the possible reaction. "Sir, are you sure you completely trust Liara?"

Shepard raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, Ash? Speak freely."

"Well, Wrex doesn't say much, but he just stands over there by the lockers, and we have spoken to each other at times. And his reason for being her appears noble enough. And I already think as Tali as a little sister. Every time we talk, she's just so enthusiastic about being on board the Normandy. But Liara… Sir, she's the daughter of the asari whose allied with Saren, who were are currently trying to capture. Are you sure working with her is wise?"

"Liara and I have spoken a number of times since she boarded, Ash, and I trust her. She has no real reason to lie about her mother, and the fact Saren sent a krogan battle-master and geth after her would suggest her mother has no real say in the conspiracy of events currently underway."

Ashley stayed firm. "I'm still not completely convinced, sir."

"Have you spoken to Liara?"

"Well, not really. Not in depth anyway. We sometimes run into each other in the mess."

"Then it's like I normally suggest to others, Ash. Talk to Liara. Get to know her. Pressly has already taken on my advice and I know he and Garrus have talked long into the night in the mess. Many mis-conceptions, that both held about the other race, have been lain to rest. They're not friends, by any means, but at least there is now an understanding between each other."

"Very well, sir. I'll take you advice… again."

Shepard grinned slightly. "Good. Anything else, Ash?"

"No, sir. I'll wait until you give the word for us to depart."

With a simple nod, Shepard turned and walked across the room towards Garrus. Ashley returned her attention to the weapon currently disassembled on her workbench.

* * *

Shepard stared out the front window of the _Normandy_ as Joker piloted the ship into the docking bay at Port Hanshan. The world appeared to be covered in a blanket of snow. It looked cold. Inhospitable. Add to the reception from Noverian air control, the one word in Shepard's mind was unwelcoming. He half expected for his ship to be blown out of the sky, despite assurances that his Council Spectre status would guarantee at least a semblance of co-operation. But the ship docked without incident, Shepard turning to meet his assembled team at the air-lock.

Shepard started issuing orders. "Okay team. Run down. There are reports of geth here on Noveria. But keep in mind that Noveria is outside Council space. No doubt we're going to receive a warm welcome," those last words dripping with sarcasm, the group chuckling at the quip. Shepard didn't mind keeping it light for now. Once they were out that door, however, it was purely business. "The usual rules apply. Be smart. Watch your six. Stay sharp."

The four nodded their heads in agreement before running finals checks over their armour and weapons. When they were all ready, all looked at Shepard, a nod of their head from each indicating they were ready.

"Let's go."

The team stepped out of the decontamination chamber. And immediately ran into trouble. Walking out of the docking bay, Shepard and his team were welcomed by what could only be described as the Noverian welcoming committee.

Three heavily armed guards.

With an attitude.

"Stop right there, sir. We need to establish your credentials," said the woman in the middle, clearly the commanding officer.

Shepard came to a halt, leaving his arms free at his side, away from any of his weapons, but an almost unseen instruction with his fingers to his team, twirling them ever so slightly. His team would understand what he meant.

_Be ready._

Shepard didn't really want to start off his arrival on Noveria with a gunfight in the docking bay, so managed to suppress any annoyance by remaining calm and polite. The women in the middle appeared to be the officer in charge.

"We'll co-operate, ma'am. But only to a point. I'm a Spectre, here on Council business."

"I'm sorry, sir, but until we know who you are, we will have to detain you. Could you also relinquish your weapons? Sergeant Stirling, please confiscate them."

The woman to the left started moving forward. Shepard, however, raised a hand, indicating for Sergeant Stirling to remain where she was. The Sergeant did so, but begrudgingly, glaring at Shepard, who merely gave a smirk in return, before returning his attention to the woman in charge.

"I wouldn't do that, ma'am. Let me repeat myself. I'm a Spectre. I am here on Council business. Now, you can either co-operate with me, as I have already offered to co-operate with you. Or, we can see how things go the other way. There are five of us, heavily armed. There are three of you. Do the maths. But I warn you, there are confirmed reports of geth activity on this planet. If you choose to obstruct myself and my team, I will make sure the Citadel Council start to heavily interfere with any, and all, operations currently underway on this planet. Now, do you want that to happen, over something as simple as my weapons and status?"

The woman in the middle had eyes as wide as saucepans and appeared ready to respond when the loud-speakers suddenly erupted with a woman's voice, urgency clear in her tone.

"Captain Matsuo. Stand down! His identity is confirmed. Spectre's may carry weapons on Port Hanshan. I repeat, stand down."

"I apologise, Spectre. You may now proceed," said Captain Matsuo, almost sounding sincere in her apology.

"No harm, no foul, Captain," replied Shepard, "You were only doing your job."

Matsuo nodded, stating "Miss Parasini will meet you in reception." She then gestured to her two colleagues to leave, not before Stirling managed to get in a final word, Shepard just leaving it though he heard both Liara and Tali mutter threats towards her. Shepard turned around to look at both of them, a shrug of their shoulders given in return. Shepard would have laughed, but made do with a slight nod before turning his attention forward again.

"May as well see who else we can annoy then," Shepard muttered to himself as he walked up the stairs towards reception.

* * *

Tali could sense that Shepard was now extremely annoyed. Parasini had been friendly enough, and provided more information about Noveria than expected. Then came the bombshell of Benezia actually being present on the planet, at a place called Peak 15. Liara was immediately concerned, but Shepard assured her that it wasn't a problem.

But then they ran into _that _salarian. Anoleis was an absolute pain in the ass, couldn't be reasoned with and wouldn't co-operate, fobbing Shepard off by saying he couldn't do anything to help the Spectre, and certainly would not help him regarding transportation to Peak 15. Tali observed Shepard deal with the salarian, wondering if he was going to leap over the desk and wring the salarians' neck, or even just pull out his pistol and shoot him. Instead, to everyone's surprise, including her own, Shepard simply muttered something inaudible and walked out of the office.

The group were now sat in a bar, near a large window, the freezing, snow-bound world of Noveria clearly on view, wondering what to do next. Shepard drummed his fingers on the table, deep in thought. Liara was sat opposite, gazing at the Commander, all wide-eyed and innocent. Ashley looked just as annoyed at Shepard, who had been in his ear walking out of the office, wondering why he didn't just beat the information out of Anoleis, Shepard simply stating 'That's not my style.' Wrex agreed with Ashley, but otherwise stayed silent.

Tali was simply observing the group, and at the same time the entire room, when she noticed a turian approach them, Shepard turning his head as the turian stood opposite them.

"Commander Shepard?" asked the turian.

"Who wants to know?"

"Forgive me, Spectre. My name is Lorik Qui'in. I've been informed that you're having some difficult dealing with one of the site's administrators."

"All I want is a pass to get to Peak 15. So far I've had a bunch of security guards and a scrawny salarian fuck up my day and I'm not in the best of moods. So, I'll be blunt. What do you propose?"

"Perhaps we can help each other, Commander. I run a company called Synthetic Insights. Well, I did, until Anoleis brought charges of corruption against me. What he doesn't know is that I have information on my terminal implicating Anoleis in numerous embezzlement schemes that would see him serve the rest of his life in jail. If you can get me that information, I'll get you that pass. What's the old human proverb? I scratch your back, you scratch mine?"

Shepard stood and walked around the room, holding out a hand, which the turian accepted. "Deal."

"Once you have that information, bring it back to me and you should then be on your way. You'll need this key-card to access my office as well," stated Lorik, handing over a card. Shepard nodded his agreement, before turning his team.

"Right, let's go."

Tali followed Shepard out of the bar and followed the signs towards the elevator leading up to Synthetic Insights. The five managed to cram into the rather tiny elevator, Wrex taking up a significant portion of space, Tali finding herself squashed up against the Commander.

She didn't complain.

The elevator pinged on arrival, Shepard leading his group out of the elevator and into a waiting area. More security guards approached them. Tali looked over at Shepard, whose face was impassive. The eyes, though, were ablaze with anger.

"Synthetic Insights is off-limits to all personnel. Instructions as per Administrator Anoleis," stated one of the guards.

"Do you know who I am?" Shepard asked.

"Am I supposed to?" asked one of the guards sarcastically.

Shepard turned his attention to the guard who asked. "Commander Shepard. Council Spectre. And I don't appreciate the tone. So what I'm going to do is ask you, one time only, is to get out of our way. If you don't, I will shoot you where you stand. Are you prepared to die on the instructions of that salarian?"

The assembled guards all stared at each other as they appeared to recognise the name and status. Wordlessly, they appeared to reach a decision. "I'm not dying just to protect some corrupt official. As far as I'm concerned, Spectre, you can do what you like."

"I'd suggest you get out of here then," stated Shepard.

The guards nodded, and walked off, Shepard keeping an eye on them until they had boarded the elevator and started their descent.

"Why didn't you just shoot them, Shepard?" asked Wrex, "Would have been a nice little fight."

Shepard just shook his head and walked onwards, the team falling in behind him. They entered the offices of Synthetic Insights and located Lorik's office. Shepard pointed to a terminal.

"Tali, see what you can gather from that."

Tali nodded, before sitting down and started hacking into his systems, downloading all the information to an OSD. Her eyes flicked over the data. She was amazed at the amount of information the turian had gathered. None of it made for pleasant reading, particularly for Anoleis, but also for a particular guard they had met earlier. The word that came to her mind was embezzlement.

"Shepard, you won't believe what Qui'in has on Anoleis!" exclaimed Tali, "He's been funnelling millions of credits into a private bank account. No wonder he shut down Qui'in. Plus there are numerous payments being made to the security staff. No doubt they're doing his dirty work."

Tali then clicked a few more buttons on the console.

"Okay, download completed, Shepard."

"Good work, Tali. Right team, let's get the hell out of here."

Tali once again followed Shepard as the team walked out of Qui'ins office. And right into another stand-off. In front of them stood Sergeant Stirling, surrounded by at least five other guards.

_Oh, this should be fun…._

"I don't think you should be here, Commander," stated Stirling, a smirk on her face.

"I think you should be more concerned about your own situation, Sergeant. Tut-tut, someone has been a naughty little girl."

Tali had to stifle a giggle.

Stirling made to grab her weapon. Before she even had time to draw and point it, Shepard drew his own weapon and pulled the trigger three times. The first two bullets were stopped by her shields, the third bullet found flesh. Then skull. Then brains. The bullet then exited out the back of her head. Her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed to the ground. Tali had her shotgun out from the small of her back and in-hand by the time the second bullet hit, pointing at the nearest guard. She looked across as Liara glowed blue, her biotic aura ready to be unleashed, Ashley had an assault rifle in hand while Wrex was also armed with his trusty shotgun, grinning at the thought of another battle. The other guards had yet to make a move, looks of shock and surprise on their faces, as they all looked down at the now dead sergeant. Blood was already pooling around her head.

Shepard pointed his pistol at the nearest guard as he spoke.

"Listen up. I could order my team to put all of you down right now. To me, you're nothing but scum. Mercenaries who are looking for nothing more than your next paycheque. I could kill you all without hesitation, and quite happily go on with my day, not giving any of you a second thought for the rest of my life. However, you are not my concern. If you choose to put down your weapons and walk away, I will not chase you. You know who I am and more likely know why I am here and who I'm looking for. I am on far more important business than dealing with the likes of you. But, I do warn you. You should leave Noveria today. The choice is yours."

Tali watched the guards closely as they made their choice. One by one, they unclipped their weapons from their holsters or their backs, slowly lowered them to the floor, and with hands slightly raised, backed away. No-one chose to fight.

_Wow, how did Shepard manage to do that?_

"Right. Now get into the elevator. Go. Now!" he ordered.

Five weapons watched the now unarmed guards board the elevator. Once the doors had closed, and the elevator started to descend, Tali lowered her shotgun, re-attaching it to the small of her back. She heard the familiar click of other weapons being re-holstered.

"Nicely done, Shepard," stated Tali, the awe easily recognisable in her voice.

"Most of them are probably just dumb kids, Tali, in over their heads. And I don't particularly want to explain why there are a bunch of dead guards piled outside this office. I'm only after one man. Let's go get him."

Tali grinned behind her mask as she followed Shepard back to the elevator. The descent back to the main level was quiet. Tali had to admit she was impressed with how things had progressed. Apart from Stirling, about whom even she had no qualms about Shepard putting a bullet in, the rest had been allowed to live. She looked across to see Liara looking at Shepard, a smile on her face. The look in her eyes was unmistakable.

_She likes him already…_

The elevator finished its descent, the doors opening to reveal Miss Parasini leaning against a wall, as if waiting for their arrival.

"Commander. I believe there has been an incident at the Synthetic Insights office. We've just had about a dozen unarmed guards come through, saying they had to leave Noveria. Would you know anything about all this?"

"What would like me to say, Miss Parasini? I merely accepted your advice regarding Mr. Qui'in. As for the guards, I can only assume they have reassessed their choices in life."

"Oh, well… Before you return to him, meet me in the bar. We need to talk."

Parasini walked off.

"She's hiding something," stated Ashley.

Shepard just shrugged his shoulders. "Let's just go talk to her, see what she really knows."

The group headed back to the bar, taking notice of who was sat where. Ahead to the left sat Qui'in, who had not noticed them enter the area. To their right sat Parasini at one of the high tables. She had noticed them and waved. Shepard shrugged his shoulders, flicking his head in her direction and the group walked over.

"Gianna Parasini. Noveria Internal Affairs. Apologies for the deception, Shepard."

"I knew it! I knew she was a cop," exclaimed Ashley, grinning from ear to ear.

"Why the act, Parasini?" asked Shepard.

"I've been undercover for six months, Shepard. Everyone knows Anoleis is dirty. We've just been waiting for the perfect opportunity to bring him down."

"Well, this OSD should have enough information," stated Tali, handing the disks over to Parasini.

"It may do, but we need to make sure the case is concrete. I don't want to give that slimy bastard a single chance to get away. So, can you speak to Qui'in? Convince him to testify against Anoleis. If he testifies, there is no chance Anoleis will be seeing anything except the inside of a jail cell for a very long time."

"Anoleis is a scumbag, Parasini. I'll talk to Qui'in."

"Thanks, Shepard. Once you're done, come see me and we'll take him down."

Parasini walked off, no doubt to resume her role as a secretary for the brief time Anoleis would still require one. Shepard walked over to Qui'in, taking a seat across from the turian.

"So, did you get the information?" asked Qui'in.

"I did, but I've just given it to Parasini."

"You what?" he asked, anger clear in his voice.

"Easy, Qui'in. She's internal affairs. An undercover cop. She needed the information to build her case. What I need you to do is testify against Anoleis."

"Well, I'm not sure…"

"Come on, Qui'in, don't you want to see Anoleis hauled off in chains, destined to spend the rest of his miserable life behind bars?"

"You know, Commander, you could just shoot him."

"Not my style, Qui'in, but I understand what you mean. But I want to see this done right. Parasini already had the evidence, now we just need witnesses. So, think about it for a minute…"

Tali observed the conversation play out. She was already used to Shepard using negotiation with various people, even 'the enemy', whatever the situation. She had always assumed soldiers, even those of the officer class, simply went in all guns blazing and to hell with the consequences. She was left more impressed each passing day with how Shepard dealt with whatever was thrown at him.

"Okay, Commander, I agree. I'll testify. And, as promised, here is the pass you require," replied Qui'in, sliding over the pass.

"Thanks, Qui'in. You've made the right choice."

The pair shook hands again and the team walked out of the bar. Parasini was soon delighted to hear that Qui'in was willing to testify, and with everything in place, the entire team took great pleasure in Anoleis being slammed into the desk by Parasini as he was being read his rights.

"Spectre! I demand you arrest this bitch!" screamed Anoleis as he was being hauled away. Parasini simply slammed the salarian into another wall to shut him up.

"Thanks, Shepard. I owe you a beer," stated Parasini, as she pushed Anoleis out the door, and into custody.

"I'll remember that, Parasini."

The group watched Parasini depart before turning towards the Commander.

"Where to now, Shepard?" asked Ashley.

"To the garage. I'm hoping there will be some transport available to take us to the next station."

The group of five crossed the main floor of the building again, heading towards the garage area. Shepard stopped for a moment to chat with the chief engineer, who confirmed that Benezia had been through the area in the past week. Tali was keeping a close eye on Liara, as she was aware of the possibility that she soon may have to face down her mother. Tali was surprised to see only determination in her eyes and written across her face. Liara must have seen Tali looking at her, as she looked across and gave a grim smile.

"Are you okay, Liara?" asked Tali quietly, moving across to stand next to the asari.

"I am, Tali. I just want answers. Hopefully we'll get them soon enough."

"We will, Liara."

"Never thought I'd have to face my own mother, though. Not like this."

"You'll do the right thing when the end comes, Liara."

Liara gave another slight grin. "Thanks, Tali. It's nice to know you trust me as well."

"Of course. If Shepard trusts you, then I do to."

Liara gave Tali a slightly knowing glance, before focusing again on conversation taking place between Shepard and the engineer. Once Shepard was done obtaining the information he wanted, he gestured to his team to follow him into the garage, the security guard letting them go once Shepard handed over the pass card. The five entered the garage and immediately came to a stop as Tali let out a shout.

"Geth!"

Five weapons were immediately un-holstered and Shepard started shouting instruction.

"Ashley, get in that Grizzly and unleash hell. The rest of you, with me and take cover. Liara, this is your chance to show me what you can do. Go! Go!"

Tali ran into cover behind the Grizzly, watching Ashley leap up onto the Grizzly and down the hatch. Within seconds, she heard the first shot of the cannon, taking a peak around the side to see it miss the two massive Geth machines at the end of the garage floor. She kept her eyes on the numerous Geth Hoppers, unable to get a clean shot.

"Liara, any chance you can get a bead on those hoppers?" asked Shepard, busy firing his own rifle.

"Can do, Shepard," responded Liara, glowing blue before flinging a biotic assault, stopping the geth flying about the room, and instead lifting one of them slowly. Shepard ducked out of cover for a moment, firing a hail of bullets into the geth, leaving it a broken mess on the floor. Tali keyed her omni-tool, tech attacks being aimed at the two larger machines that were slowly progressing towards them, while Ashley finally got the cannon on target, leaving both Geth Destroyers in a corner of the garage in a pile.

Tali peeked around her own corner to see the floor clear of enemies, apart from the bodies of geth lying around haphazardly.

"Clear this side, Shepard."

"Same here too, Shepard," announced Liara.

Shepard walked out from cover towards the bodies of one geth laying nearby. "Guess that answers the question about geth activity on Noveria," he said quietly, more to himself as Tali walked towards the same body.

"What the hell is going on in here?" shouted a female voice behind them. The group turned around to see Captain Matsuo, the officer who had first greeted them on arrival, with a pair of officers with her.

Shepard walked over towards the Matsuo, standing in front of her before turning slightly and gesturing to where Tali remained standing. "Geth, Officer Matsuo. There is the evidence you required."

"But how are they on Noveria?"

"My mother brought them with her," answered Liara.

"But we did all the checks! They couldn't have possibly got through," stated Matsuo, shaking her head in disbelief as she walked towards Tali, "How is this even possible?"

"Benezia must have masked the crates to hide the eezo cores," suggested Tali.

Matsuo turned to the officers with her. "Secure the area. No-one apart from the Spectre comes or goes." She turned back to Shepard. "Where to now, Spectre?"

"We're going to take that Mako over there and go find Benezia."


	13. Chapter 12 - Those Creatures

_A/N - Bit of an update for those still reading (thanks to Phil and Rogen for all the reviews, and anyone else who is leaving a note every now and then.) I have 15 chapters uploaded so far, plus another five sitting on my computer but I need to figure out where to stick them, but I hit a bit of a block a couple of weeks ago as I wasn't sure where to take the story. So I've created an actual storyboard of what I want to cover, apart from the main stuff, as I wanted to use some of the side missions for the purpose of expanding the universe and provide more depth to the story. I've already written the ending as well._

_Also, I've started writing a few things for my next story (covering ME2). Mostly just the prologues and a couple of chapters covering Shepard & Tali but I'm going to keep going until the end as I enjoy the writing, and if people want to keep reading, then even better!_

* * *

Shepard sighed. For once, the Intel he'd received was right. Geth were definitely on Noveria. The synthetic bodies lying around the garage behind them was testament to that. It was now obvious that Benezia was working with Saren, and it was indisputable that she had brought the geth with her.

Shepard and his team were now in a borrowed Mako, on their way to Peak 15. The landscape was one of endless white. Shepard didn't think he'd ever seen so much snow in his life. Thinking back to his time on Earth, he couldn't remember ever seeing snow where he had grown up. In some way, he found the landscape beautiful. Pristine white. Virtually untouched. But it was bitterly cold in the Mako, even when surrounded by the four bodies of his squad. And with the heating turned up. He looked across at Tali, who appeared to be shivering.

"Didn't think you'd be cold in that suit, Tali?"

"The suit can usually fight off the worst of environments, Shepard. But I don't think anything could stop this cold seeping in," she answered, her teeth slightly chattering.

Shepard chuckled slightly, though he knew what she meant.

_I could think of a fun way to warm up, though…_

Shepard shook the thought from his head. He had to admit that he was feeling the cold as well. He returned his focus to what was ahead of him. The endless white. The track on which the Mako was travelling was perilously narrow, Shepard concentrating hard to make sure he didn't send the vehicle flying over the edge. They were just passing the burned out remains of a vehicle when…

"Geth troops ahead, Commander!" shouted Ashley from behind, who followed up her shout by firing the cannon, "Geth heavy turret as well."

"Do what you do best, Ash. Tali, I'll do what I can but keep those shields up."

"No problem, Shepard."

Shepard floored the accelerator, closing the distance to the turret, Ashley firing her cannon and following up each shot with constant machine gun fire, aimed at either the turret or geth soldiers nearby. Shepard could feel the occasional explosion as a rocket impacted the Mako, but the shields were holding firm.

"Shields at 80%, Shepard."

"No problem, Tali. Just try and keep those shields as charged as possible."

The cannon fired again. "Turret down, Commander," reported Ashley, who started firing the machine gun, wiping out the geth resistance relatively quickly.

"Commander, we're not going to have much room to move in that tunnel."

"It's the only way forward. Keep that cannon and machine gun frosty, Chief."

"Aye-aye"

Shepard slowly crested the rise before entering the tunnel, peering into the distance, his eyes widening slightly as he realised what was coming his way.

"Rockets inbound, Commander!" shouted Ashley.

"Hold on everyone!" ordered Shepard, as he floored the accelerator and used the thrusters to leap over some of the rockets. "Keep up that fire, Chief. Otherwise we're sitting ducks in here."

Ashley didn't respond verbally, the fire of cannon and machine gun leaving Shepard in no doubt the order was heard and followed. Shepard floored the accelerator again, closing the gap on the layers of geth resistance in front. Those not knocked out by cannon or machine gun fire he simply ran over.

"Shields at 65%, Shepard."

"Do what you can to keep them up, Tali."

Shepard kept the accelerator down hard and soon had the Mako at the exit of the tunnel, hoping they wouldn't have to go through another one. The weather was closing in, the visibility falling to mere feet as the fog closed in. It was still bitterly cold as a blizzard starting to sweep in across the mountain.

"Alright back there?" yelled Shepard.

"Liara and I are fine, Shepard. Bloody cold. Krogan are not built for this. But just get us there in one piece, if you don't mind," replied Wrex.

Shepard grinned slightly as he rounded a corner, though the grin was soon wiped from his face.

"Geth armature, Commander," reported Ashley, "Looks like it took out a vehicle, and it's still on fire ahead of us."

"We've dealt with them before, Ash. Isn't that right, Tali?" asked Shepard, giving a quick grin to the quarian beside him.

"No pools of lava to hit it into this time though, Shepard," replied Tali with a chuckle.

"Couple of shots with the cannon should do the trick, Ash," added Shepard.

Ashley once again fired the cannon in response, reporting a hit, Shepard slowly approaching the geth machine. He could see a couple of Geth Rocket Troopers as well, though the rockets they fired were easily avoided. Ashley fired the cannon again, reporting a miss, but opened up the machine gun again, wiping out the geth soldiers. Shepard stepped on the accelerator, cresting a slight hill, the Mako flying in the air and colliding with the armature, knocking it backwards. Shepard slammed on the brakes and reversed the Mako, Ashley firing the cannon again, resulting in the armature exploding into pieces.

"Well… That was an interesting way to deal with it, Commander."

"You'll get used to his driving, Ashley," replied Tali.

"What do you mean by that, Tali?" asked Shepard, with a slight smirk.

"Oh, nothing, Shepard. Nothing at all," stated Tali, though she couldn't help but chuckle ever so slightly. She looked across at Shepard, who was staring at her, but he said nothing, shook his head with a smile and simply moved the Mako onwards.

It was quiet for a least a couple of minutes as the Mako continued its lonely journey along the treacherous mountain path, the only guidance being the occasional pillar with a red light showing the edge of the cliff. Rounding another bend, Shepard had to groan slightly as another tunnel came into view.

"Light them up, Chief," ordered Shepard, glad to see that at least there were no turrets or armatures to deal with, and Ashley dealt with the geth troops quite easily. Shepard stepped on the accelerator again, but ran into no opposition. Flying out of the tunnel, though, a rocket slammed into the front of the Mako.

"Geth heavy turret, Commander. Well hidden."

"Shields at 55%, Shepard."

Shepard kept the accelerator down, flying past the turret, Ashley swivelling the cannon and firing. Stepping on the brakes, Shepard backed up to avoid the next rocket, counting down the seconds until Ashley could fire the cannon again. The Mako rocked again as another rocket impacted.

"Shields at 48%, Shepard."

The cannon fired. "Turret down, Commander."

"Good stuff, Chief. Tali, any chance you could re-route some power to the shields?"

"Unlikely. Not without turning off the heater."

"Er… Do what you can, but leave the heating alone. That's an order, Tali!" stated Shepard, Tali looking at him to see a smirk on his face and laughter in his eyes. She grinned back behind her mask.

"Aye-aye, Shepard."

Everyone had a good chuckle at that one as Shepard had the accelerator moving onwards again. Ashley dealt with three more geth turrets in quick succession, the vehicle barely taking any damage as Shepard kept the Mako at a distance, before Shepard brought the transport to a halt outside a large building.

Peak 15.

"Okay, everyone out."

* * *

Wrex was crouched behind cover, his shields recovering for a moment. The massive geth machine had been rocked back by constant tech and biotic attacks from Tali and Liara, but was still up and firing rockets towards their positions. Shepard had been wise, though, spreading the team out across the facility. Wrex could hear the constant snap of two sniper rifles, as Ashley and Shepard lined up an enemy, coolly taking them down, preventing the opposition from closing on their position. He was even impressed by the biotic abilities of Liara, constant warps, lifts and throws creating havoc in the geth lines. The only concern, if Wrex could ever say he had concern, were the two krogan mercenaries currently hunkered down, in good cover, at the far end of the garage.

Wrex stepped out from cover of his own, another couple of blasts from his shotgun blowing more holes in the massive geth machine. It looked like it was starting to falter, or so Wrex thought.

"Keep up the fire!" demanded Shepard, raising his voice over the constant noise of gunfire, another rocket detonating behind Wrex as the large geth machine missed its target. Wrex stepped out again and blasted away, in conjunction with both Ashley and Shepard, two sniper rifles firing at once. The massive geth machine collapsed to the ground.

"Wrex, the two krogan. Any thoughts?"

"Yeah. Kill them."

Shepard barked a laugh, before turning to Ashley. "Chief, you take the one on the left, I'll take the right."

"Understood, Commander."

"Wrex, once we've fired, close in and do what you do, we'll keep you covered and take the shot if necessary."

"I'll kill them both, Shepard, don't you worry."

"I'm not worried, Wrex, but we don't want to make it too difficult now, do we?"

Wrex waited in cover until he heard two cracks of sniper rifle. With a roar he leapt out from cover and sprinted as fast as a krogan can, lining up one of the krogan and firing two shots with his shotgun. The first krogan went down, Wrex pulling out his pistol and firing shots into the face of the prone krogan. The second krogan fired a shot into Wrex, his shields faltering significantly. Wrex roared with anger, dropped his pistol and swung his shotgun at the other krogan, knocking the shotgun from his hands. He then closed in and head-butted the krogan, causing it to stagger back slightly, giving him just enough time to aim the shotgun at his head and then it was all over.

Wrex turned around, covered in blood, most of it not his own, to see the other four standing in a circle around the enormous geth machine.

"What is that thing?" asked Ashley.

"Geth Juggernaut, Ash," answered Tali, "Heavy infantry. Never seen one myself, but the Fleet generally try and keep up to date with any new units the geth produce."

"Whatever it is," stated Shepard, "It was an absolute bastard to take down. How are all your shields and armour?"

"Took a couple of hits, Commander, otherwise a-okay," answered Ashley.

"Shields are recovering, Shepard, but I'll be fine," answered Wrex.

"I'm fine, Shepard," answered Tali and Liara together.

"Good, because we're not done yet."

Shepard ordered the team to move out, Tali making mention of the announcements currently being raised. It didn't bode well for the team as the entire facility was without power and there were biohazard materials, whatever that meant, apparently throughout the facility. Tali stated that any chance of forward progress off the station would not be possible without more work. Wrex said nothing, just ambling along at the rear of the group.

_I don't mind work as long as there are things to kill…_

The group entered a hallway, Shepard on point with Ashley a step behind, Wrex bringing up the rear, watching their six. Even Wrex thought it was eerily quiet. It was clear whoever had been here was long dead. Otherwise, the place was deserted, the group on guard as they entered the elevator. At the finish of its ascent, the group entered a snow-bound hallway, then another door.

And geth.

"Take cover and open fire!" ordered Shepard.

Wrex, bringing up the rear, simply charged into the room, looking for something to kill. The usual red flashes indicated where Tali was launching her tech attacks, while Wrex almost laughed as he noticed a geth floating in the air, taking aim with his shotgun and blasting it to pieces. The geth put up little resistance in the long run, Tali running riot with a variety of tech attacks that left them vulnerable to the constant fire from Shepard, Ashley and Wrex.

With the last geth collapsing to the ground, a gaping cavity in its chest, Shepard raised a hand to cease fire and to halt for a moment. Wrex kept his shotgun at hand as Shepard quickly check over his team, meeting Wrex in the eyes for a moment and simply nodding all was okay.

Then a sound that even horrified Wrex erupted from a corridor at the top of the stairs. Five weapons were immediately readied as they saw through the window a large brown creature, something that at least four of them had never seen before.

"What the fuck is that thing?" asked Ashley, her nervousness clear in her tone.

"I have no fucking idea but it'll soon be dead, whatever it is. Squad, let them come to us," ordered Shepard.

Wrex sniffed the air and growled. Shepard turned to look at him, raising an eyebrow, Wrex just shook his head for the moment.

_Something isn't right about them…_

Soon a number of the creatures were walking down the corridor towards their position, five weapons tracking their movements, the creatures continuing to shriek. Wrex could see Tali shrink back ever so slightly. He reached out and lightly touched her shoulder.

"You'll be fine, Tali. Stay near me," suggested Wrex, a soft tone to his voice. He noticed Shepard look over, nodding his head and gave a slight grin.

The creatures rounded the corner, four opening fire with bullets while Liara started raining down biotic attacks on them, lifts and warps causing untold damage. Soon the brown creatures were joined by tiny green creatures, which exploded into a toxic green mist when shot.

"Don't let them get close!" ordered Shepard.

The group kept up their rate of fire and soon two of the brown creatures were dead on the ground, but more kept coming, spraying brown liquid toward the team, bubbling on the ground. It was clearly acid.

_What the hell sprays acid? It couldn't be…_

"Keep up the fire! Shoot the fuckers!" ordered Shepard.

Gunfire continued to rattle in ears as the five continued to launch their attacks, keeping the unknown creatures at bay. The creatures appeared susceptible to biotics, Shepard keeping up his demands on Liara, who was starting to look exhausted from the fight. One by one, though, the creatures started to fall dead, acid falling on snow but missing their targets, little green creatures exploding into mist, but not too close, and soon the room was silent as Shepard raised an arm to indicate cease fire.

"Okay, can anyone tell me just what the fuck those things were?" Shepard asked, disbelief evident, along with undoubted anger. Wrex shared that feeling.

Wrex sniffed and growled again. "I'm not sure yet, Shepard, but I've got a bad feeling here."

Shepard gestured for the team to move out, Ashley this time taking up the rear with Wrex behind Shepard. Shepard carefully searched each room they passed, weapon raised, all four corners checked off, before stepping back and moving on. Wrex double checked behind, but found nothing too. In the third room Shepard checked, one of the brown creatures jumped out of cover, immediately covering Shepard in acid. His shields and armour took the hit, but it still caused him to stumble back and turn away. Wrex was alert to the danger straight away, pushing Shepard out of the way, running through and blasting the creature with his shotgun, before turning it in his hands and clubbing the creature again and again. Wrex could feel his blood start to boil. Something wasn't right…

"Easy, Wrex, easy, the thing is clearly dead," Shepard said calmly, as Wrex felt his hand on his shoulder.

Wrex looked up at Shepard, who appeared uninjured from the acid, though his armour was a mess. He knew his gaze was fierce as even Shepard took a step back for a moment, raising both his hands. Wrex felt to be on the verge of exploding. "I told you, Shepard, I have a very bad feeling."

"So you've said, Wrex. Any idea what these are?"

"I'm not sure, Shepard. I'm just not sure… But something just isn't right here. I can feel it in my bones. In my blood."

Shepard nodded and the group moved out, another snowbound hallway and another elevator, the group again squeezing into the confined space. Another ascent. Once at the top, Shepard stated they must be near the VI core, with doors leading off the left and right, the door to the left leading to the tram that would take them off to the next station.

More of those little green creatures were dealt with first, the two assault rifles of Shepard and Ashley dealing with those with ease. The five were soon grouped near the VI core, Wrex again just standing around, waiting for the next fight, though listening in to whatever was being said.

"Shepard, we need to fix the VI. A few of the systems are knocked out. We need to put those back on line before we can take the tramway over to the next station," explained Tali.

"Okay, Tali. See if you can get the VI started up again, and we'll go from there."

Tali took the small elevator down into the core. "I'll just be a couple of minutes, Shepard," she shouted up, as she started to fix the core. Her fingers moved deftly across the console as she reconfigured the master control system for the VI. As she had stated, it only took a couple of minutes work, and the VI rebooted. The elevator raised Tali back to where the group was waiting.

"All fixed!" she exclaimed.

Shepard just gave a grin. "Good work, Tali. Exactly why I always bring you along."

Wrex, like usual, was silent but observed all.

_Hmmm, it appears Shepard does have a soft spot for this quarian..._

The VI was full of information, most of it bad. Peak 15 had been cut-off from the rest of Noveria due to a bio-hazard leak, the VI unwilling to give any more information as to what the bio-hazard actually was. The VI had been shut down as a precautionary measure. Most systems were currently non-operational. The two main facilities that required fixing was the reactor core, to provide power, and landlines, to provide communication and help keep the VI connected to the rest of the facility.

"Okay guys, it'll probably be easier if we split into two teams. Two birds, one stone. Ashley, take Liara, go to the roof and get the landlines restarted. Liara, any good with tech?"

"I'm not as gifted as Tali, but I should be able to fix those," she said.

"Keep in radio contact if you run into any trouble. Wrex, Tali and I will handle the reactor core. Meet back here when the job is complete. Ready?"

Four heads nodded.

"Good. Move out."

Shepard waited until Ashley and Liara departed before his team moved out. The way to the core was via a long hallway and another elevator.

"Getting sick of all these elevators," grumbled Wrex as the elevator started to descend.

The trio entered the first room of the core and could notice geth in the distance. Who noticed them in return and started running towards their positions.

"Weapons free people. Tali, give them hell!"

Wrex had his shotgun out and waiting as the three covered both doors. Wrex was no soldier but knew they wouldn't be easily flanked with the firepower at their disposal and the fact the geth would be funnelled into the room. A Geth Destroyer was the first to arrive, Tali launching a tech attack, disabling its shields, Wrex blasting away with his shotgun while Shepard had his assault rifle at eye level, each shot finding its intended spot. The Destroyer was soon on the ground, no more than spare parts, and was soon joined by a pair of Geth Stalkers, who were dealt with relative ease.

"Wrex, Shepard, can you cover me while I get the reactor online?" asked Tali.

"Sure thing. I'll take point. Wrex, take the rear. We'll keep Tali covered."

Wrex nodded and the three walked out of the room through the door to the left. They walked down the gangway, Shepard searching high and low for any more geth. He couldn't see any as they turned right to approach the core, only to see a Geth Juggernaut in hiding on the second level.

"Shepard, the fuels lines are disconnected. I'll need to fix them to get the core restarted."

"Can do, Tali. Wrex, with me. We're taking out that Juggernaut."

"With pleasure, Shepard."

"Tali, keep in cover down here and do whatever you can with tech attacks."

Shepard and Wrex ran up the walkway towards the Juggernaut, both of them blasting away to ensure the Juggernaut focused on them and not the core, or Tali. The Juggernaut launched a rocket towards the pair, Wrex leaping out of the way as the rocket flew past.

"You're pathetic!" he roared at the Juggernaut.

The Juggernaut then lurched, bright red sparks erupting as Tali launched another tech attack. Shepard had his sniper rifle out, taking his time as he lined up perfect shot after perfect shot. Wrex didn't have the time or patience, continuing to blast away with his shotgun as he closed in on the Juggernaut, the shots from Shepard keeping it distracted. Another tech burst from Tali had the Juggernaut in trouble and a final shot from Shepard sent the machine to the ground. Wrex simply stowed his shotgun and walked back down the gangway, Shepard following close behind, as they walked back to where Tali was waiting.

"Right, I'll start fixing the core," stated Tali.

After a couple of minutes, Tali had the core back online and it appeared the facility was once again fully functional, the VI stating the landlines had also been fix. Shepard grinned at the news that Ashley and Liara had worked well together and got the job done. The three started walking back towards the VI core to meet the other two, taking the elevator back up to the main floor. The three walked out into the main hallway where Ashley and Liara were already waiting for them.

"All good?" asked Shepard.

"Yes, Shepard," replied Ashley, "I've never worked with a pure biotic before. I have to say, it works very well once you are attuned to how the other works. Liara, what was the name of that one attack you used?"

"That was a singularity, Ashley," explained Liara.

"Commander, you should see what happens when Liara used one of those! It's even better than those lifts Liara or Alenko uses."

"Good to hear, Ashley. I'm glad you two can work together as a team."

Wrex noticed both the human and asari blush at the compliment.

_Hmmm, it appears Shepard has admirers. I wonder if he notices._

"Right, let's move out."

The group headed into the hallway leading towards the tramway, as indicated by the sign above the door. Another elevator, this time heading upwards, the VI mentioning they were heading towards the transit hub, and the tram required for the inevitable showdown. The VI also mentioned loose contaminants that may be encountered.

"Stay frosty, people," requested Shepard.

The elevator door opened, Shepard leading the group out and eventually into an ante-room. On the floor was a dead salarian, Liara walking over to the check the bdy and console behind him, but it was the creatures they could see through the glass window that caught everyone else's attention.

"Shepard, the note here says he committed suicide in regards to what they've been doing here," Liara said after checking his body. Shepard widened his eyes in surprise, but otherwise remained silent. In the meantime, Tali spoke with the VI, who suggested a plasma purge would kill the creatures behind the window.

"Repair the console, Tali," ordered Shepard, "I want those things dead."

"Certainly, Shepard."

Wrex simply leaned back against the wall and watched events unfold, Tali opening her omni-tool and running diagnostics on the console. He wasn't surprised that it only took her a matter of minutes to have it fixed, and the two creatures behind the glass soon disappeared as plasma blasted them into nothingness. Shepard could only whistle in appreciation.

"Okay, move out."

Shepard took up point again, Wrex bringing up the rear as the team continued its journey towards the tramway. More little green creatures were encountered, these once again dealt with easily by Shepard and Ashley, who didn't let them get anywhere near the others. After that, there were no other contacts as they finally arrived at the station. Shepard brought his team to a halt.

"Everyone ready?"

"Ready, Commander," replied Ashley.

"Ready to go, Shepard," added Tali.

Wrex just grunted, nodding his head.

"Liara?"

"I'm ready, Shepard. I know what I have to face once we've arrived on the other side. It does not frighten me. Like you, I want answers as to why mother would wish to ally herself with Saren. I want to understand."

Shepard nodded his head.

"Good. I think it's time we met your mother then. Let's go."


	14. Chapter 13 - The Matriarch

The ride in the tramcar to Rift Station was quiet, everyone sat deep in thought as they approached the end. Shepard stood in the middle of the tram like a coiled spring, ready to leap into action. Liara sat to one side, determination still written across her face. Tali was busy playing with her shotgun, as was Ashley with her assault rifle. Only Wrex sat unmoving, appearing to be bored by the entire experience. Shepard looked over his team with some sort of pride. In every mission so far, his team had proven more than a match for any opposition they faced, and escaped virtually unscathed every time. He knew it couldn't last, but he'd do everything in his power to make sure they all returned home alive.

After a few minutes, the tram pulled to a stop at Rift Station. The five exited the tram, Shepard on point as usual, rifle already in hand, raised and searching the area. It was eerily quiet. Apart from the footsteps behind him, the only thing he could hear was his own breath. It was too quiet. In his gut, something he always trusted, he knew the situation was definitely wrong.

"Stay sharp," he quietly ordered his team. The lack of sound was disconcerting, the lack of people even more worrying.

_Benezia may be here, but where the hell is everyone else?_

The five walked carefully through the deserted station, checking through various doors for any signs of life. There was simply no-one around, alive anyway. But there were also no bodies, no signs of any struggle, no blood, no mess. It was as if everyone had simply disappeared.

The group eventually made their way to an elevator, a sign stating 'This Way to Barracks' above. Shepard gestured with his hand towards the door. The doors to the elevator opened once the ascent had been completed, and the group of five walked out to see a group of guards, with weapons at the ready, pointing straight at them. Shepard signalled to his team to keep calm, but stay on guard.

"Stand down," stated one of the guards, standing in the middle, obviously in charge. "Sorry, sir, we couldn't be sure what was on that tram."

"No problem. Had much trouble?" Shepard asked.

The guard almost laughed. "Trouble? Those creatures, whatever they are, have slaughtered my team. I can't remember the last time any of us slept. We're all running on stims at the moment. Those creatures never let up. They always seem to know when we've let our guard down, even if only for a moment. They're taking us out, one by one. But that's beside the point. You're human. So that's a good thing. But who are you?"

"Commander Shepard. Spectre. Or Alliance Navy. Take your pick. This is my squad," he stated, gesturing back towards the others, "So what's happened here?"

"Name's Ventralis. Those creatures over-ran the hot labs last week. No doubt those scientists were doing something completely stupid, which has now left us in the situation we're currently in. They've been on the loose ever since. Only Han Olar escaped with his life. But… he ain't talking a lot of sense. Other than that, we've been fighting off those things wherever we could. They're whittling down our numbers, slowly but surely."

"We're looking for an asari matriarch. Lady Benezia. My mother. Would you know anything about her?" asked Liara.

"Yeah, she arrived yesterday. She may be down in the hot labs at the moment. We haven't seen her come out, back through here, so I assume she's still down there."

"Good to know, thanks for the information," finished Shepard.

With a nod, the captain resumed his defensive role, while Shepard indicated to his team to follow as they moved further into the facility. They walked along a number of corridors, with no sign of any further life. Once again, all was quiet. The group eventually arrived in a larger room, where they finally found further signs of life. The group holstered their weapons as they walked into the room, taking note of the survivors.

The room was almost silent, pairs or small groups quietly conversing. Others walked around with a dazed look. Most of them looked frightened, some in tears, others simply staring into the middle distance. Most turned to watch as Shepard and his group entered the room but no-one made to approach them.

"I've seen this sort of reaction before," mumbled Shepard.

"Where?" asked Liara.

"After Elysium," he replied.

Shepard walked to the end of the room and climbed a pair of steps, turned around and faced back towards the survivors. He put two fingers into his mouth and let out a large whistle. That made everyone turn and look.

"Could everyone in this room come here please?"

No-one moved.

Shepard sighed. "Now please!"

Eventually people started to wander towards Shepard and, soon enough, all the survivors were standing in front of him. They looked at him somewhat expectantly, as if he had the answers. Shepard knew that he only had questions.

"Okay, my name is Commander Shepard. I'm a Spectre. I'm here to locate one Lady Benezia. She is an asari matriarch. Can any of you tell me where Lady Benezia is?"

A sea of blank faces. Shepard sighed again.

"Okay, has anyone seen an asari Matriarch come this way in the past 24 to 48 hours?"

No-one said a word. Shepard was getting slightly annoyed, as he opened and closed his fists a couple of times, but he remained calm. He could see that these people had obviously been through a lot. Most looked in some sort of shock. It wasn't their fault.

"Can anyone tell me where Han Olar is?"

A hand was raised in the crowd. A salarian. He looked like a doctor. "He's currently in the science team headquarters. He refuses to come up here. He's… not quite right. Not after everything that's happened."

"Okay, that's a start. Thank you. Now, can anyone tell me how to get through the hot labs?"

Another hand raised. "You may need to go speak to Doctor Cohen. He's currently in the medical bay. I believe he may have a pass to go through the maintenance area. Any other access to the hot labs is currently restricted due to the outbreak of those creatures."

Just the news everyone wanted to hear. "Great. Thank you all very much for your co-operation."

Shepard turned and gestured to his team to move out.

"Commander, are you here to help us?" shouted a voice from the crowd, slight desperation in the voice.

Shepard turned. The question caught him slightly off guard as his eyes opened wide in surprise. He looked at his team for a moment, telling them to halt, before he turned and walked to the top of the stairs again.

"Yes, we are here to help. I promise you, no more deaths. You will be safe. Just stay calm, stay together and you'll get out of this alive."

The sense of relief through the group in front of him was palpable. Smiles broke out on faces, he could see one or two break down in tears at the thought they may finally be safe. Shepard gave a slight smile before turning and gesturing at his team to move out once again.

"Okay, first we'll see what we can find out from this Han Olar. Then we'll go to the Doctor and see about that pass."

Shepard followed the signs to the science lab, first down another hallway before descending, once again, in an elevator, Wrex continuing to grumble about being stuck in confined spaces.

"Krogan don't like it, Shepard," he grumbled, Liara and Tali trying to stifle giggles.

Soon they came out into a large room, the science lab, occupied by only a volus and a couple of other scientists. Shepard raised his eyebrows in surprise. No-one had expected to find a volus.

"Er, Han Olar?"

"You came to find out about them, didn't you?"

"Them? You mean the creatures?"

"Yes, the rachni."

"What? Rachni?" growled Wrex, "We killed the rachni!"

"But the rachni are extinct," stated Liara, "The krogan wiped them out."

"They did. Or, at least, we thought they did. Binary Helix found a derelict ship. On board was an egg. They brought it here."

A scientist in the corner tried to interrupt. "Olar! Will you shut up…"

Shepard gave the man a fierce glare while Wrex raised his shotgun. The scientist soon quieted down, letting Olar resume what he saying.

"Olar, are you absolutely sure it's the rachni? This is all a little bit crazy," asked Liara.

"I wish I was crazy. It would be better than… this," replied the volus, gesturing towards the emptiness of the room.

"What about Lady Benezia? Is she still in the hot labs?" asked Liara.

"Hmmm. Such a thing would be possible. The rachni are susceptible to biotic attacks. It is possible she would be safe."

"Anything else?" asked Shepard.

"No… just… leave me be."

Shepard turned and walked away, his group falling in behind him. Once they were back in the hallway, Shepard turned to his group.

"Rachni! Do you believe it!? Who on earth thought this would be a good idea? Someone has to pay for this! Tali, take information from any console we can find. I'm taking this before the Council."

"Yes, Shepard," replied Tali.

"I knew they smelled wrong," said Wrex, "Rachni! I can't believe these eggheads would do this. Thousands upon thousands of krogan were sacrificed to stop those insect bastards. Their deaths will not be in vain."

"Why would they choose to resurrect the rachni?" asked Liara.

"That's the $64,000 question, Liara, and one we may have to ask someone. I have a feeling a certain Matriarch may have the answers."

Liara grimaced and lowered her head. "I have a feeling you may be right, Shepard," she said quietly.

"Are you okay, Liara?" Shepard asked softly, resting a hand on her shoulder.

Liara looked up and nodded, determination written in her eyes. "I'm ready to face her, Shepard. She must pay for this."

Shepard nodded his head in agreement. "Right, I think it's time we find this doctor."

The group moved out in silence, back up the elevator and through the never-ending hallways, eventually coming to the door designating the way down to the medical bay. A couple of flights of stairs, arriving in a room mostly full of cots, people laying on them, apparently in agony. The group had heard their cries on their descent. None of the patients looked well. In the middle of the room stood a middle-aged human male, who Shepard assumed was the doctor. He gestured to Liara towards the patients, Liara understanding and walking off to see if she could help at all.

"Doctor Cohen?" asked Shepard.

The doctor whipped around. He looked quite distracted. "Yes, what do you want?"

"Doctor, I'm Commander Shepard. I'm here to help."

"Oh…. Oh, that's… good…."

"You okay, doctor?"

"Yes, Commander. I'm just exhausted. Continuous casualties since the outbreak. Then there are these poor guys. All suffering from toxic poisoning."

"What happened?"

"There was an accident. Other than that… I really can't say."

Shepard sighed. "It's okay, doctor. I know about the rachni. I can put two and two together."

The doctors' eyes went wide with surprise for a moment, then he sighed as well. "I don't know what those idiots were thinking. All I know is that a lot of people have been killed, and more are lain up in here because of our stupidity"

"What can I do to help? Though I understand you have hot labs access. Perhaps we can do each other a favour?"

"Certainly, Commander. If you can go sort out an antidote for this toxin, I'll give you hot labs access."

"Perfect. How do I go about making this antidote?"

"The room is currently under quarantine. Tell the guard I sent you. Notes for the antidote are currently in the room. You should be able to put together the concoction from the notes. Return here, and I'll give you may pass."

"Sounds like a plan, doctor. I'll be back shortly."

Shepard gestured to his team to follow back upstairs to the main room. He didn't like the idea, but he thought that splitting up the team again would work to get two jobs done at once.

"Okay, Liara, Ashley, go down to the science labs and get that antidote sorted. Return to the doctor when you're done and see if there is any way that you can help him out. Tali, Wrex and I will go down to the hot labs and see what the story is. We'll hold off confronting Benezia until we're back together as a team."

"Okay, Commander," stated Ashley, who gestured to Liara and the two disappeared down the hallway to the science labs.

* * *

Shepard and his two companions were in the elevator, descending to one section of the hot labs. He knew they were nearing the end of their mission. Knew that they would soon have to face a powerful asari Matriarch. Knew that Liara would eventually have to face her own mother in battle. However, he was more concerned with Wrex at the moment, who looked utterly furious.

"All good, Wrex?"

Wrex turned to face Shepard. "Still can't believe it, Shepard. What are Binary Helix, Benezia or even Saren thinking? Have they not read the history books? Have they read about the utter devastation the rachni brought upon the galaxy?"

"We'll get Benezia in time, Wrex. Then we may get answers."

"We'd better."

The group exited the elevator to find themselves in a large room. In the middle of the room sat alone a human male. Other than that, the room was practically empty. Glass windows lined the room, looking out into a large cavern. Shepard walked across to look out. There was nothing there. Nodding once to himself, Shepard walked over towards the male.

"Are you here to secure the situation?" asked the human male.

"I'm Commander Shepard. Spectre. I'm here to resolve this… situation. Don't be coy, however. I know these creatures are rachni. I know what Binary Helix has been up to."

The human male sighed. "It's all our fault."

"Okay, so what happened here? Why are rachni on the loose? Who thought this would be a good bloody idea in the first place?"

The human male sighed again. "After we found the ship, we located eggs on board in cryogenic suspension."

"And Binary Helix chose to hatch a rachni egg?!"

"You should have destroyed the egg!" roared Wrex. He moved to advance on the human male, shotgun in hand.

Shepard turned to face the krogan. "Easy, Wrex. Easy. We need information from this man."

Wrex growled but stopped his advance. "These people had no idea what they were dealing with, Shepard."

Shepard returned his attention to the other human male. "So what did Binary Helix plan?"

"They wanted to clone the rachni. Mass-produce a clone army. But, when they hatched the egg, they found that the rachni was a queen. The plan changed. After the queen laid a batch of eggs, they were taken away, thinking that without the mother, the babies could be raised by the scientists."

"Why are there so many rachni?"

"Queens can lay many eggs, very quickly. They are very fast breeders."

"Well, whatever the case, clearly your plan didn't work. These rachni are a menace."

"You're telling me what I already know. We tried playing God. Now we will all pay the price. Without the queen, the rachni cannot be controlled. It is something we did not understand. Or chose to ignore."

"So how do we stop them?"

"Neutron purge. It is the only way."

"What will the purge do?"

"It is a burst of neutron radiation. Everything in the station will die."

"How do we set off this purge?"

"There is a control nearby. Then…."

The human male's explanation was stopped, as the claw of a rachni shot through his body, lifting him up, flinging him left and right before throwing him to the ground.

"Oh fuck! Open fire!" shouted Shepard, as three weapons were immediately raised and the lone rachni blasted into oblivion. "Fucking son of a bitch!"

"What do we do, Shepard?" asked Tali.

"Go search his body, Tali, and see if you find anything that may help us."

Tali walked over to where the human male lay and carefully searched his body. She reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a small datapad.

"Got something, Shepard," she said and handed the datapad to Shepard. These were the codes required. Wordlessly, Shepard started walking towards the control room, entering to find a VI interface. With a couple of keystrokes, the VI illuminated.

"Activate the neutron purge," requested Shepard.

"Proper authorisation code required," answered the VI.

"875-020-079. Code Omega local execution."

"Verified. Purge will initiate in t-minus 120 seconds."

"Right, let's get the hell out of here!" ordered Shepard, as he turned to get out of the area. He opened the door to find the room full of rachni.

"Oh, you've gotta be shitting me. Every time! Can a guy catch a fucking break once in a while? You know, solving a problem then walking out in peace."

Shepard got down on one knee, and started firing into the group of rachni that were preventing their escape. Tali joined him on one knee alongside, her shotgun firing in short bursts, each finding the intended target. Wrex… well, Wrex simply charged into the middle of the rachni, shotgun blasting away or being smashed into the face of whatever happened to be in the way.

_Crazy son of a bitch…_

The rachni were spitting acid towards them, but with Wrex now occupying most of their attention, the other two were able to focus on simply firing into the rachni, making sure to take out any who were approaching too closely. Shepard kept an eye on Wrex, who was simply blasting away creature after creature with his shotgun, though he was starting to take some damage.

"You okay, Wrex?" shouted Shepard.

"Just getting started!" barked the krogan in response, blasting away another rachni, not before he took a heavy blow to his arm.

Soon the number of rachni was dwindling, and Shepard started to advance, indicating to Tali for her to follow.

"How long, Tali?"

"30 seconds, Shepard."

"Right, let's hustle. Move! Move! Move!"

Stowing their weapons quickly, Tali and Shepard started running through the large room, avoiding whatever rachni forces remained, any acid being spat there way thankfully avoiding them. Shepard took a quick look out one of the windows. All he could see was an ocean of rachni.

_There must be thousands of them down there!_

Shepard ran past Wrex, who was busy using his shotgun as a club against whatever rachni remained. "Come on, Wrex, we need to go!"

"Right behind you, Shepard," answered Wrex, who blasted away one final time with his shotgun, before ambling towards the elevator.

Shepard pressed the button for the elevator, the doors opening and Shepard motioned for his team to board, before getting on last. The doors closed and the elevator started to ascend.

"Status report, guys."

"Few wounds here, Shepard, but I'll recover," confirmed Wrex. Shepard turned to check over the krogan, who did appear to be bleeding from a couple of nasty looking wounds on his chest.

"Sure, Wrex?"

Wrex just grinned. "This is nothing, Shepard. You should see me after a real fight!"

"Shields and armour took a beating, Shepard, but I'm fine," stated Tali, between gasps for breath.

Shepard quickly checked himself. No wounds, but his shields had taken a battering, and his armour had seen better days after all they'd been through. He made sure to covertly check over Tali. She appeared to be fine. Tali noticed he was checking on her, tilting her head slightly as he looked over. Shepard noticed and gave a small smile before turning his head forward again. Grimaced slightly. Things were only going to get more difficult.

Tali started counting down from five, with the three all shifting slightly, full of nerves, as the elevator shook as the neutron purge went off, a series of loud bangs exploding below them. Eventually the elevator arrived at the main level again and the team moved out.

* * *

"Commander, we have a problem," stated Ash over the comm.

Shepard came to a halt just outside the door to the barracks. "What is it, Ash?"

"It's Ventralis. He's working with Benezia. He has all the survivors locked up in their barracks as hostages. He's waiting for you to return. He's under instruction to kill us. Then he's going to start killing any survivors. They don't want any witnesses to what's been going on here."

"How many men does he have, Ash?"

"Around half a dozen or so left. They came under siege from more rachni after we met him."

"Where are you now?"

"We're hunkered down in the medical bay with the doctor and patients. Ventralis hasn't sent someone down here yet. Maybe he doesn't know we're down here."

"Okay, hold where you are. Ash, you'll know the signal to come up when you hear it."

"What do you mean, Commander?"

"Trust me, you'll know."

"Aye-aye."

"Did you get the card for the maintenance shaft?"

"In my pocket."

"Okay. I'll go talk to Ventralis. You'll know what to do."

Shepard and his two companions walked back through the waiting area where they had first encountered Ventralis. Ashley was right for now at least as the area was deserted.

"What's the plan, Shepard?" asked Wrex.

"I'm going to try and talk him out of doing utterly stupid. Be prepared, though, as I have no doubt he's been promised the world by Benezia. Weapons free, but stay cool when we enter the barracks."

Wrex and Tali nodded in agreement and Shepard led the way back towards the barracks. Taking one last breath, and one last check of his assault rifle, Shepard stepped through the door into the barracks, half expecting to be shot. He wasn't surprised to see Ventralis standing there, though, surrounded by five guards.

"Commander."

"Captain."

"I'm afraid we're at an impasse, Commander. I have my orders from Benezia."

"So I've heard."

"Yet you still come to confront me?"

"I'm not confronting you, Captain. I'm hoping you may see the error of your ways."

"You don't understand, Commander."

"Oh, but I do, Captain. You see, this will play out one of two ways. Either you step out of my way, leave Noveria and I go deal with Benezia. Or I kill you, and your friends, and deal with Benezia afterwards."

Shepard heard two shotguns readied behind him. In front, the five guards readied their own weapons. Shepard didn't move a muscle. To his credit, neither did Ventralis.

"You seem confident, Commander, that you can escape this situation unscathed," stated Ventralis with some amusement.

"I'm not sure about unscathed, but I always have a back-up plan. Isn't that right, Ash?"

"Correct, Commander," answered Ashley, who appeared with Liara behind where Ventralis and his five guards were standing. Ashley had her weapon primed and ready, aimed at one guard, Liara glowed blue in a biotic aura, ready to release some form of attack on the whole lot of them.

"You're still out-numbered, Commander," stated Ventralis, though any confidence he once held had disappeared.

"Let's see, Captain. You have me, a Spectre. And I'm in a bad fucking mood right now. You won't like me when I'm in a bad mood. Subsequently, I'm backed by an Alliance soldier just itching to shoot one of you assholes, a veteran krogan warrior who could probably deal with the six of you by himself, a quarian engineer with a shotgun and an attitude, and a fearsome asari biotic who will cause untold havoc with all of you. Opposing us, you have yourself and five extremely worn out guards. I see only one winner."

"I have my orders, Commander!" yelled Ventralis in desperation.

"Benezia will either be arrested or dead in a matter of minutes, Captain. If you drop your weapons right now, I'm willing to let you leave with your lives"

Ventralis sighed and stayed silent. His arms remained at his side, though he did not reach for his weapon. The guards behind him exchanged looks, shifting nervously, their weapons starting to lower.

"Are you really prepared to die over this, Captain, and sacrifice the men behind you for no reason?" asked Shepard, "Would it really be worth it? Life or death, Captain. It's your choice."

Ventralis looked up at Shepard, right into his eyes. And slightly nodded his head. He turned his head towards his team. "Lower and drop your weapons, men, and back away."

The guards followed his instructions, the clatter of rifles on the ground, hands raised up as the five moved to the other side of the room. Ventralis didn't move for a moment, then un-holstered his pistol, though didn't raise it at anyway, simply sat at his side, finger on the trigger. Shepard echoed his movement, aiming his pistol straight at Ventralis.

"What are you doing, Captain?"

"You think I can just walk away, Commander? They know who I am. They'll find me if I let you go. But that doesn't mean…"

The sentence remained incomplete, as Ventralis placed the barrel in his mouth and pulled the trigger. Shepard looked away for a moment, before he lowered his pistol and re-holstered it, as he looked down at the slumped form of the Captain, the blood starting to spread across the ground from the wound out the back of his head.

_You never get used to seeing that…._

Shepard looked across at the five unarmed guards. "You five. Leave now. The tram is sat waiting. Take it back to Central Station, then make sure it's sent back. I never want to see any of you again."

The five merely nodded their heads and silently walked past Shepard and his team. The other four holstered their weapons as they congregated back in the middle of the room.

"Well played, Commander," stated Ashley. Shepard just shrugged his shoulders in response.

"Time to end this," he said.

* * *

Shepard and his group were making their way down the maintenance hallway towards where they knew Benezia was located. The rest of the survivors had been released from where they were being held and sent back on the tram. Shepard didn't know how long they would be, figuring the tram would have returned, and just hoped they didn't take the Mako that was still waiting for them.

With the card from the doctor, the group were able to take the back way into the hot labs section where Benezia was supposedly at, a lone rachni the only opposition along the way. Before entering the assumed final showdown, Shepard stopped to speak to one member of his group.

"Liara, are ready for this?"

Liara gave a firm nod. "Yes, Shepard. You can count on me. Whoever that person is in that room, she is no longer my mother. Such a thing would not be possible. She has obviously been corrupted by Saren."

With a final nod, Shepard turned and opened the door.

Benezia stood at the top of a flight of stairs. She was tall. She looked powerful. She was illuminated in a blue glow. She oozed biotic power. She would be a formidable opponent. But, first, she spoke.

"You do not know the privilege of being a mother. There is power in creation. To shape a life. Turn it towards happiness or despair."

Benezia turned towards a creature sat in a tank. Shepard followed her gaze.

"The rachni queen," he muttered to himself.

"Her children were to be ours. Raised to hunt and slay Saren's enemies."

"Well, that sounds like a good fucking idea," Shepard said, mostly to himself. He heard a snigger or two from his team, quickly extinguished.

Benezia turned back towards Shepard and his group, moving closer with each careful step. Still, she did not attack. Instead, Benezia turned her attention to Liara.

"I won't be moved by sympathy, no matter who you bring to this confrontation."

"I'm here because I choose to be, Benezia. The woman I called mother disappeared long ago," replied Liara, determination in her voice, "I would try and understand. But there appears to be little point."

Benezia advanced until she stood with only the stairs separating herself from Shepard and his group. Shepard looked into her eyes. They had taken on a sinister edge. Shepard prepared himself mentally for what was about to happen. He could sense his team tensing up behind him, ready to explode into action.

"Have you faced an asari commando unit before? Few humans have."

"So I guess you can't be reasoned with?"

"No, there will be no negotiation. Only your deaths."

Before he could move, Shepard found himself trapped in a stasis field. His team moved around him into cover, as asari commandos moved in from the opposite side of the room. Shepard found himself under fire, his armour and shields taking a number of hits, but the stasis field only held for a matter of seconds. As soon as he was free, he searched for the nearest cover.

The commandos were powerful opponents, well-trained in weaponry with powerful biotics in reserve. However, Shepard could see the battlefield in his mind, he could already see a tactical advantage, if it played out as he hoped.

"Ash, Wrex. See if you can flank around to the other side of this platform, get in behind them," he suggested. Ash nodded her head, and with a tap on Wrex's shoulder, the pair moved off, staying out of sight, as Shepard, Tali and Liara kept their attentions focused on the commandos, hoping they would not notice.

Liara was flinging biotic attack after biotic attack - warps, lifts and the occasional singularity - at her opponents, her anger and fury at the situation clear in her eyes. The commandos wilted under her attacks, while Shepard merely played a supporting role in taking down their shields. Tali contributed with her shotgun where she could, while Shepard could see Wrex and Ash around the other side.

Benezia, though, was aware, and soon numerous geth troopers were charging into the room, alongside more commandos.

"Tali, there's some geth! You know what to do!"

Shepard slowly rose out of cover to provide covering fire for Tali, moving from cover to cover as Tali started overloading shields and weapons with the also the occasional sabotage. Liara continued with her biotic attacks, while Shepard could hear gunfire and roars from the other side of the room. Ash and Wrex appeared to have some of Benezia's forces pinned back on their own.

Shepard put a finger to his ear. "Ash, status?"

"All good here, Shepard. Wrex is a tank!"

Shepard chuckled for a moment, before resuming his own battle. Soon the floor was littered with the bodies of geth and asari commandos, unable to withstand the force of Shepard's team. He looked up to see Benezia on her platform, an increasingly concerned look on her face. Clearly this was not the outcome she had expected.

"Do you not think I plan for any eventuality, Commander?"

More geth appeared. Most appeared to be snipers, the pings of bullets ricocheting around the lab.

"Got anything else, Tali?"

Tali grinned behind her mask. "Actually, Shepard, this is a good trick." Tali keyed her omni-tool again. One of the geth started to spark, and followed that by starting to fire into its allies. The other geth turned and started firing at the hacked geth in return.

"Nice one, Tali. Keep that in mind for the future! When did you learn that?"

Tali had to speak up over the gunfire. "Something I've been working on recently. Figured it would come in useful eventually."

"Awesome." Shepard stood up to fire, before returning to cover. "You see, Tali, this is why I always bring you along. You're full of good ideas." Shepard turned to flash a quick grin at Tali. As usual, Tali blushed behind her mask.

_Even in the middle of all this, he's still nice to me._

Soon the numbers of geth had been whittled down, with Ashley and Wrex working their way back to Shepard. With a final shot, the last geth fell at the feet of Tali, shotgun still smoking. There were no more enemies left.

Except Benezia.

The group of five advanced on the now ailing Matriarch. Yet, even though she appeared defeated, she was still defiant. Shepard had to admit a begrudging respect for her. Suddenly she fell to her knees and roared out a cry, her eyes closed in pain. Shepard made to move forward to help, but stopped himself. He didn't know if this was a ruse. Benezia suddenly opened her eyes, looking up at Shepard. They were focused solely on him. Crystal clear.

"Commander. You must listen. And quickly. Saren's indoctrination is strong and I only have a short time. I am powerless compared to him, the power he wields."

"Indoctrination? Is that mind-control?"

"Yes. I thought I could sway Saren from the path he has chosen. I was wrong. I wasn't strong enough. I don't have a lot of time, Commander."

Shepard nodded. "Okay, I only have one question, Benezia. Why are you here?"

"To find the Mu Relay. Its position is, or was, unknown. It was lost thousands of years ago. I found out from the queen that it was once the home of the rachni."

"I assume you found it?"

"I have, Commander. Please, take this information before… I lose myself again."

Benezia stood up and walked towards Shepard and handed him a small OSD. She pressed it firmly into his palm, trailing her fingers along his before removing her hand. She looked into his eyes, as he looked into hers. He could see only two emotions. Pain and fear. Benezia turned her head towards Liara. Her eyes suddenly shimmered with tears, before she blinked rapidly, beating them back.

"Commander, I must insist that you must find Saren. And quickly. He is already aware of the information on that OSD. Now, I must ask you to do one last thing."

Shepard raised an eyebrow.

"You must stop me. Please, before his voice returns. I cannot endure it any longer. Please, end the pain…"

"But mother…" pleaded Liara, tears rolling down her cheeks.

Benezia raised her hands to her head. She was clearly in pain from the indoctrination. She fought as hard as she could, but Shepard could tell it was hopeless. Benezia turned back to Liara, her own tears falling as she spoke her final words.

"You have always made me proud, Liara."

And then Benezia started to shimmer in blue again, her face once again turning into a sneer, her eyes full of rage and hate.

Five weapons were raised at the ready. Only one fired. A succession of bullets ripped into Benezia, as she stumbled back and fell to the ground, leaning back against the tank that held the rachni queen. Shepard turned with surprise, to see Liara stood there, gun raised, tears streaming down her face, her finger still on the trigger, still pulling, though the weapon had long since overheated. Shepard slowly raised a hand and placed it on the top of the gun, moving it down as Liara stopped pulling the trigger. She looked up at Shepard, her tear streaked face portraying only emotion on her face.

Liara quickly walked over to her mother, bending down to one knee as she held her hand.

"I am sorry, Liara. I wish we had more time. I'm sorry…"

Liara broke down in more tears. "Don't leave me. Please!" she pleaded in a whisper.

Benezia spoke more words, softly, that Shepard couldn't hear what was stated. Wails of grief from Liara soon echoed around the room as Benezia closed her eyes for the final time. Liara, shaking with sobs, grabbed her mother and held her now lifeless body in her arms, slightly rocking back and forth, her head buried into her shoulder. Shepard looked away, to see Ashley in tears of her own. Tali was thankful for her mask, as they hid the tears streaking down her own face. Only Wrex appeared unaffected by the scene playing out in front of him.

Shepard slowly walked over to Liara, giving her as much time as possible, before lightly touching her shoulder. He kept his voice quiet.

"Liara."

She looked up at Shepard. Her eyes wet, tears still streaming down her cheeks.

"We have to go, Liara."

Liara simply nodded. She let go of Benezia, lightly placing her body on the ground, taking one last look before standing up and walking over to stand beside Wrex. Shepard let out a breath as he looked at the rachni queen.

_Now what on earth do I do with you?_

* * *

The group of five sat in the Mako on their way back to Port Hanshan. Shepard grinned to himself. He knew he had done the right thing. Wrex had not been happy when he made the choice, voicing his inevitable opposition and concern, but he knew the krogan trusted him and his decisions. In the back of his mind, he just hoped he wasn't proven wrong.

"Are you sure you made the right choice there, Commander?" asked Ashley, "I don't mean to question your judgement, sir, but that was a rachni queen. The last one. We've read what the rachni were responsible for. That was one hell of a risk."

"I'm sure, Ash. You know me, I trust my gut. The queen seemed sincere. I'm willing to give her that chance. I wasn't going to judge her for the mistakes her race made a thousand years ago."

"I trust you, Shepard. If you think she deserves the chance, then I believe in her too," stated Tali, grinning behind her mask.

Wrex just grumbled. "Better not come back to bite us in the ass, Shepard. But… I see your point. You haven't been wrong so far. And I trust you. For a human."

Shepard chuckled. "Thanks, Wrex. I hope I keep that trust."

Wrex didn't say anything in response, just gave a simple grunt.

"Tali, how much information did you get about Binary Helix from the consoles we found?"

"An absolute treasure trove of information, Shepard. But all of this was outside Citadel space? What do you hope to do? The Council may just end up ignoring anything you prove."

"If the Council won't listen, I'll release it to the press. I think Ms. Wong would find all of this information delightful."

"Are you sure that's wise, Commander?" asked Ashley.

"It's the right thing to do, Ashley. These idiots thought that hatching a rachni egg was a good idea. Fuck knows what else they could be up to. It's clear Saren and Benezia both had a lot of sway on their board at the same time. No, they need to be taken down."

Silence descended in the Mako as they made their way back to the _Normandy._


	15. Chapter 14 - Time Off

The _Normandy_ was flying back to the Citadel after the events of Noveria. Shepard had convened a meeting in the communications room to debrief. He already knew his next move, first the Citadel, then off to Feros, but he wanted to run over what they had learned so far. More concerning, though, was Liara. She was trying hard to appear unfazed, but Shepard knew it was a false front. He knew they would have to talk later.

Shepard knew the information regarding the Mu Relay was important, but without more information, they could end up getting lost in the numerous mass relays throughout the Terminus. That would be pointless.

"What's the next move, Commander?" asked Alenko.

"We're all tired. We're all worn out. I know I'm totally knackered and could do with rest. Plus we could do with a small refit regarding weapons and armour. So we're going back to the Citadel. 48 hour lay-over. I've been pushing you all very hard, and I appreciate all your hard work. We could all do with a bit of relaxation."

"Are you sure, Commander? What about Saren?" asked Ashley.

"Yes, Ash. We can't keep pushing, otherwise we'll burn out. Saren is out there somewhere, but it doesn't look like he's made a move yet. We're still not entirely sure where he is, and it's pointless blindly searching. We'll just waste time. We only have bits and pieces so far. And we can't really make a move on the Mu Relay, not just with the information given to us by Benezia."

There were a series of nods in agreement.

"Okay, we should be at the Citadel in a few days. Why don't you all go get some rest for now, and return to work tomorrow. Otherwise, dismissed."

Everyone stood and walked out of the room. Joker patched through the Council. Shepard walked through the events of Noveria in detail. The Turian Councillor was not happy to hear about the release of the queen. Shepard calmly explained his conversation with the rachni and the Councillors actually agreed with his assessment, though the Turian Councillor still stated his concerns. Then came Binary Helix.

"Councillors, I have also discovered that Binary Helix was behind the research and release of the rachni."

"What evidence do you have, Commander?"

"We have downloaded information from consoles all around the facility showing that Binary Helix discovered the egg, then spent billions developing research into hatching the egg, then breeding the rachni. Saren was planning to breed the rachni as an army to use at his disposal. The company was developing toxins to potentially use as chemical or biological weapons. Binary Helix is entirely culpable for any and all events that occurred on Noveria. They must be brought to account for their crimes."

The Councillors were quiet as they appeared to confer with one another. Then the Asari Councillor spoke again.

"Commander, while we appreciate your discovery, the Council believe that Binary Helix have done nothing illegal. Firstly, the research took place outside Council space. We have no right to say what can or cannot be done outside of our own space. Those who choose to live outside the protection of the Council do so at their own risk, and while we may not like what occurs, we are not entitled to act. Secondly, research into the rachni is not actually illegal, considering they were considered an extinct race, so no laws were ever enacted preventing the research. While we can take issue with chemical or biological weapons development, which we may be able to place some sanctions on Binary Helix, we can find nothing illegal with what Binary Helix has done otherwise."

Shepard couldn't believe his ears. "Hang on a second, Councillor Sparatus has just chewed my ear off regarding the release of the queen, yet you have no problem with the research going on?"

"I'm sorry, Commander," stated the Asari Councillor, "We will bring Binary Helix to account for the chemical / biological weapons issue. Otherwise, while we may have personal issues with what Binary Helix were doing regarding the research into the rachni, the Council can take no steps otherwise against the company."

Shepard just shook his head in disgust. "Unbelievable!" he muttered to himself.

"Do you have anything else, Commander?"

Shepard sighed. "No, Councillors. That will be all."

"Very well, Commander. We look forward to your next report." And, with that, the link was disconnected.

Shepard stood there, anger coursing through his veins. The short-sighted fools! How could they ignore everything that Binary Helix had been doing! His mind immediately resolved, the information had to be released to the public. A sly grin appeared on his face as he walked out of the comm. room.

Shepard walked towards the medical bay. He could see that Chakwas was sat at her station like usual. She turned as Shepard entered.

"Commander, how are you feeling? Any recurring issues from your contact with the beacon?"

"I'm fine, doctor. No major issues. Thanks for your help with Ashley. She seems to be coping far better now."

"Thanks are not necessary, Commander, I was only doing my job. She's a nice girl, and a good soldier, but she carries many burdens, not just from Eden Prime."

"Are you referring to the family name?"

"Yes, Commander. I must say, hearing her family history, I'm quite surprised she became an Alliance soldier, knowing the treatment she would likely receive, particularly after how her grandfather and father were treated. It's entirely unfair, as I said, she is clearly a very good soldier, but what can you do?"

"I guess I could have a word with Anderson, see if he can help out?"

"That would be an idea, Commander, but I'm not entirely sure what Anderson could do either."

Shepard shrugged his shoulders. "Anything to help, I guess. Whatever the case, she deserves far more than simply being Gunnery Chief. The fact she managed to survive alone from her unit speaks volumes. Anyway, doctor, you have my thanks."

Chakwas simply smiled before turning back to her console. Shepard walked on through to the room where Liara had set herself up. She was sat at her desk, her head in her hands. She was clearly upset.

"Liara?"

Liara turned around, wiping a tear from her eye as she stood up. "Shepard, come to check up on me?"

"You are part of my team, Liara, and I want to make sure you're okay."

"While my heart aches, Shepard, my mind is clear. Benezia brought it upon herself."

Shepard raised his eyebrows at that. Liara read his reaction and carried on.

"I am torn, Shepard. I want to remember her as the woman who raised me when I was a child. The beautiful and wise woman who showed me the way of the galaxy. But I will not live in regret. She made her choice. I made mine."

"But what about the fact you shot her?" he asked, quite bluntly. Inside, he winced at the question. But he needed to know.

"I will deal with that, Shepard. In my own time and way. Do not worry. It will not affect how I operate. If it had to be anyone, I'm glad it was me. No, glad is not the right word, but I hope you know what I mean. At least she showed her true self, if only for a few seconds, before she passed. I will hold on to those memories as well. She died as who she really was. My mother."

Shepard could only give a small grin in response. "Okay, Liara. If you are sure."

"I am sure, Shepard. But thanks for your concern."

"We'll be on the Citadel soon, Liara, if you would like to take some time."

"That will be nice, Shepard. Thank you."

* * *

The _Normandy_ had arrived back on the Citadel for the expected 48 hour lay-over. Shepard thought the team had been working hard and deserved at least a short break, before resuming their search for Saren. He knew he had been pushing them, and himself, almost to breaking point. He knew they needed to relax and unwind, even if only for a couple of days.

Shepard had grabbed Tali from engineering prior to his departure from the ship. He had a couple of small surprises in stall for her.

"Where are we going?" asked Tali, as they stood in the decontamination area, prior to leaving the _Normandy._

"It's a surprise," replied Shepard, a smirk on his face as he looked down at Tali. She stared back, thinking of what Shepard could possibly be organising.

Shepard continued. "Okay, our first stop is in the wards. I need to grab a couple of things from there. Then we're going to the Presidium. I have something to purchase from there as well."

"Then why am I coming along?"

"Because I like your company. You're a good friend, Tali," replied Shepard, flashing Tali a quick smile, which she reciprocated under the mask.

Tali started blushing under the mask at that thought, as she followed Shepard out of the ship and into the elevator. It started its usual slow descent.

"Sleeping better, Tali?"

"Yes, much better, Shepard. I've adapted to the quietness of the ship. It's still strange to hear no noise in the pod, but I've managed to get used to it. Thanks, you know... for letting me stay in your room."

Tali blushed even brighter at the thought, while a tinge of disappointment caused her to sigh slightly.

"No problem, Tali," replied Shepard, an inaudible sigh of his own.

The two were quiet again as the elevator descended, and eventually arrived at C-Sec HQ. Together they walked out and headed down into the wards, Tali following Shepard as he walked into one of the many marketplaces dotted around the wards. He looked like he was searching for something.

"Ah, there we are," he said to himself, as he walked towards one of the stalls, motioning Tali to follow him. She stopped and browsed the merchandise.

Gasped.

It was all quarian food, mostly just regular paste tubes, but the flavours they had available boggled her mind. She couldn't believe the choice! Then there was some actual quarian food, all labelled up in sterilised bags. Finding such variety, and quantity, outside of the fleet was almost unheard of.

"Shepard, why are we here?" she asked quietly, as she looked up at the Commander.

"I see you eating those tubes all the time, Tali. I have no idea if they're any good or not, particularly in regards to taste. I know you've told me they can rather bland. But I've been looking around to see if I could find anything a bit more, I don't know, exciting for you to eat. So, I did some searching on the extranet, about what you can and cannot eat. I found a few merchants, dotted around the galaxy, who sold quarian-specific food. I contacted this merchant, who explained what you may find enjoyable to eat, but also what you required to make sure you could eat safely, without contracting any sort of illness."

Tali could only nod. She couldn't answer, lest he hear the quiver of emotion in her voice. She was astounded by his generosity.

_What have I done to deserve this?_

"But, Shepard, this all looks so... expensive... I can't expect..."

"Nonsense, Tali," said Shepard, cutting her off, "I want the best for my crew. And my friends. So, grab as much as your want or need. I'm paying."

Tali could only nod, and she grabbed the bag offered by the merchant, a shaking hand reaching out to pick up one of the tubes. She read the label printed. She licked her lips, almost salivating at the description written. It was something she had not tasted in a long time. Shepard observed as Tali walked along, occasionally grabbing a tube, looking at the label, sometimes putting it in her bag, other times putting it back. She then came to the bagged food section. It was all food she had not had in a long while, before she had left for her Pilgrimage.

"What can I have, Shepard?" she asked quietly.

"Whatever you want, Tali. My treat."

Tali just stood there and looked at what was available, resisting the urge to simply drop everything, and wrap Shepard in a hug. She could feel she was on the verge of breaking down in tears. Methodically, she grabbed nearly every bag, checking the contents, checking the seals, making sure it was okay. The same process as with the tubes, some were placed into her own bag, others were put back. When she was finally done, she turned back to Shepard. She didn't trust her voice. She simply nodded to indicate she was done.

Shepard turned to the merchant. "How much is all that?"

"10,000 credits, Commander."

Shepard gave him a look at the use of his rank, but shrugged his shoulders, figuring most people now knew who he was. He handed over a credit chit. "There you go. Thanks."

The merchant put the chit into his till. "Pleasure doing business with you, Commander."

Shepard nodded in thanks and walked off, Tali striding along beside him, quietly. He was surprised to feel a three fingered hand grab his own, inserting two fingers between his. He looked down to see Tali looking up at him, her eyes bright behind the mask, with what he could only assume was a smile, something he was slowly starting to figure out. He gave a slight grin of his own, as he continued to walk on, hand in hand.

"Thank you, Shepard," Tali said quietly.

"No thanks required, Tali. I'm doing this because I want to. You should know by now that I help my friends. Particularly my close friends."

The pair walked up and out of the wards, up the stairs and into the Presidium. Tali wasn't sure where Shepard was taking her until she realised they were walking past Barla Von's office. They stopped outside a shop called 'The Emporium'.

"What are we doing here, Shepard?"

"Shopping, Tali," replied Shepard, a slight grin on his face.

"For what? This shop doesn't look like it sells weapons."

"We're shopping for armour, Tali."

"But you don't need any armour, Shepard?"

"It's not for me, Tali."

Now Tali was confused. Who would he be buying armour for?

_Me?_

"Coming, Tali?" asked Shepard, as he walked into the shop. He approached a hanar, who appeared to be the shop-keeper.

"This one's name is Delan. How can this one help you?"

"Hello Delan," replied Shepard, "I've been checking the extranet, and I believe you have a set of quarian armour for sale."

"You are correct. This one does have a set of quarian armour for sale. Would sir like to purchase?"

Tali was stood beside Shepard. She grabbed a hold of his arm. "Shepard, you shouldn't…"

Shepard just turned to Tali and grinned. "And why not? I want to know that you are as protected as possible. I know your shields are strong, but I'd like to know that you have the strongest armour possible as well."

"But…"

"Delan," interrupted Shepard, "Could you please bring the quarian armour out for my friend to try, please?"

"At once, sir. Please give this one a moment."

Delan floated over and spoke to one of his assistants, who disappeared into a backroom. A minute later, and the assistant returned with a box. She placed it in on the table in front of Shepard, wordlessly bowed, and returned to her original duties. Shepard opened the box. It appeared to be parts of a suit that Tali would wear. He couldn't be sure without asking Tali though.

"Tali, have a look in this. Can you tell me how this would work?"

Tali walked over and looked into the box. She pulled out one of the arm sections and placed it over the suit she was already wearing. "Oh, so this is just another layer then? It does feel heavily reinforced, but not too thick. Can't be sure of the material. It's certainly very light. But would definitely provide a good layer of protection."

"So do you want it?"

"Well… I don't know. I mean, it would be nice having stronger armour. But I can't possibly ask you to pay for it?"

"What did I say before, Tali?"

Tali didn't answer, she just looked down at the ground, slightly kicking one of her feet. "But Shepard…"

"Bu nothing, Tali. Do you want the armour? Go on, put the rest on. Tell me how it feels, if it'll be worth it..."

Tali just nodded her head and starting attaching various pieces of the armour to her suit. Most of the pieces just clipped together over her suit, though Shepard had to help clip the front and back pieces together over her shoulders and around her sides. Eventually, she had all the pieces in place. Tali then walked around the shop, making sure the suit felt okay and that it was all connected properly. After a couple of minutes, she walked back towards Shepard.

"So?" asked Shepard.

Tali nodded her head. "Okay, Shepard," she said quietly.

"Delan, how much for the armour?"

"40,000 credits, sir."

"Shepard, no! You can't possibly pay for that!"

Shepard didn't respond, but handed over four 10,000 credit chits. "There you are, Delan. Thanks."

"This one appreciates your custom. This one wishes you a good day."

"And you too, Delan." And, transaction complete, Shepard looked at Tali, grinned, and turned to walk out of the shop. Tali just stood still for a moment, utterly dumbfounded. She then moved quickly to catch up with Shepard.

"Shepard! Wait a minute…" she said as they made their way onto the walkway.

Shepard turned around and leaned against the railing. "Yes, Tali?"

"You… but… why…"

Tali didn't know what to say. But she knew what to do. Wordlessly, she stood in front of Shepard, who looked down at her with a confused look in his eyes.

_Keelah, those eyes…_

His eyes went slightly wide with surprise as she wrapped her arms around him. He reciprocated her actions by wrapping his own arms around her.

"Thank you, Shepard," she whispered, as the tears started to fall behind her mask.

* * *

"I'm here to see Emily Wong. I have an appointment," Shepard told the receptionist behind the desk.

"Sure thing, Commander, take a seat. She'll be here in a moment," responded the receptionist with a smile.

Shepard took a seat and picked up one the e-books sitting on the table beside him. He perused the contents without really taking much in as he looked around the room, and back at the receptionist, who looked up every so often, giving him a smile.

_Bah, she probably just knows who I am._

After a few minutes, Emily walked into the reception area.

"Commander, nice to see you again," she said as she approached, hand outstretched.

"You too, Emily," he replied, shaking the proffered hand.

"Why don't you follow me to my office to discuss what you've found? I must say, I'm intrigued."

"Very good, Emily. Lead the way."

Shepard followed Emily through an obviously busy newsroom to a corner office. The view through the window was breath-taking. He could see the Citadel Tower in the distance. Emily took a seat behind her desk and Shepard sat in one of the chairs opposite.

"Nice view."

Emily chuckled. "Thanks. It doesn't come easy or cheap. Anyway, Commander, what did you bring?"

Shepard took out a number of OSDs from a pocket and threw them on the table.

"Every heard of Binary Helix?"

"Sure. Major R&D Company based in the Terminus Systems. Don't have the greatest reputation in Citadel Space. Lots, and I means lots, of shady business dealings. However, I can only imagine what you've found out is what we'd call 'juicy'?"

Shepard had to grin. "Well, it's all on the OSDs but I'll give you a couple of pointers. Ever heard of the rachni?"

Emily looked thoughtful for a second. "I've heard their name pop up just recently. Don't know too much about them though."

"Well, they were an alien insect race. Over a thousand years ago, the Council were at war with the rachni. The rachni ran amok around the galaxy. The war dragged on for decades. The Council were pushed back, world by world. It took the salarians uplifting the krogan for the rachni to be defeated. Everyone thought the rachni were extinct."

"So what were Binary Helix doing?"

"A number of things, but I'll quickly explain the three most important. Firstly, one of the company's major backers is a turian named Saren Arterius. He's a rogue Spectre, backed by an army of geth, who is currently on a war-path through the galaxy. My team and I are busy tracking his movements and will bring him to justice.

Secondly, Binary Helix found a rachni egg in stasis on an abandoned ship. In their infinite wisdom, they decided to try and hatch this egg, and Saren was going to use the rachni babes to create an army, alongside his geth.

Thirdly, Binary Helix were busy developing biological weapons based on their research into the rachni. I can only assume Saren wanted the weapons to use for attacked on human colonies."

Emily sat quietly, a stunned expression on her face. "And what are the Council doing about this?" she eventually asked.

"The Council are doing precisely fuck all, Emily. That is why I'm here, giving you this information."

"They are not going to be happy, Commander, when this comes out. They are going to know who was behind releasing it."

"Well, I'm hoping you can keep my name out of it…"

"Sure, Commander."

"But they'll know it has likely come from me. Honestly, I don't care. The Council are going to sit on their hands, fine, but if they think I'm not going to make people aware, then they're fools. This information needs to be made public. Binary Helix need to be brought down."

"You're honesty is refreshing, Commander."

Shepard simply shrugged his shoulders. "I've only dealt with the Council a few times so I can't judge them too harshly, but I don't have time for politicians and all their endless talking. I understand the need for diplomacy and negotiation, but my negotiations end with a result. Or a bullet in someone. Not more rounds of discussion."

"Okay, Commander. Well, we won't be able to run this straight away. We may want to do one or two checks first. Plus… I think I may need to run this past the station chief. This may cause a ruckus."

"Of that I have no doubt, Emily. But you have my thanks."

"No problem, Commander."

"Well, if that's all, I think it may be wise if I now make myself scarce on the Citadel while this story blows up. As you say, the Council won't be happy."

Emily chuckled as she stood up. "Thanks for the information, Commander. I'm sure this is going to be one hell of a story."

Shepard stood up himself. "I hope it is. Bring the bastards down, Emily."

The two shook hands, and Shepard walked out of the office, a grin on his face as he walked out of the building.

* * *

Shepard was with Alenko and Ashley as they walked into the reception area of the hospital. Shepard was feeling guilty about the fact he had not visited the young Corporal since he had been dropped off all that time ago. So much had happened between then and now, though, that he simply had not had the time. But, with at least some spare time available before their next mission, he ensured he would at least pop in to see the young man he and his LT had saved.

Shepard approached and stood before the human receptionist. "Hello, ma'am. I'd like to visit Corporal Jenkins?"

The receptionist looked up, eyes widening slightly. "Commander Shepard?! Of course! He's in room 104."

"What's his condition?"

The receptionist typed a few commands on the screen in front of her. "Let's see… Jenkins… Jenkins… There we are. Corporal Jenkins. Admitted with two gunshot wounds. Surgery required, which was successful. He's recovering at the moment."

"What's his prognosis? Can he return to active duty?"

"That's up to him, Commander. And the medical staff of the Alliance Navy."

Shepard nodded. "Fair enough. Thanks, ma'am."

The receptionist grinned, before returning her attention to the screen in front of her. Shepard gestured to Alenko and Ashley to follow him as they walked along the hallways towards the room in which the young Corporal was located. With a brisk knock, Shepard opened the door to room 104 as the young Corporal looked up to see the three walk in. His face brightened immediately.

"Commander! Lieutenant!" said Jenkins with unbridled enthusiasm.

All three grinned as they approached the bed. Shepard clasped the young man on the shoulder. "Glad to see you're awake, Jenkins. How are you?"

Ashley retrieved three chairs, Alenko and herself sitting in two, Shepard taking the third. "I'm doing well, Commander. Doctor told me that I should make a complete recovery."

"That's great, Jenkins," stated Alenko.

Jenkins continued to grin. "It's great to see you two." He looked at Ashley. "Sorry, ma'am. I don't think we've met?"

Ashley stood with hand outstretched, which Jenkins took. "I'm Chief Ashley Williams. I'm currently serving on board the Normandy. I joined the Commander when he found me on Eden Prime."

Jenkin's face fell slightly. "Oh… oh… well, that's good. Glad to hear at least someone else made it out of there alive."

"So now that you appear to be okay, Jenkins, what are your plans?" asked Shepard.

Jenkins clasped his hands together as he looked thoughtful for a moment. "I'm not sure, Commander. I'm not sure I'm cut out to be a marine."

Shepard was surprised, and somewhat saddened. "Are you sure, Jenkins? I know we were only on the ship together for a short time, but I remember how enthusiastically you spoke of being able to serve. Of being a marine."

Jenkins nodded. "I remember, sir. But being shot and almost killed makes one reassess some of their priorities. Plus, Captain Anderson has been in to visit recently. He's offered to take me on as a personal assistant, or at least as part of his staff, if I choose not to return to full active service. I'll still be part of the Navy, just in a different section. He said it shouldn't be a problem to clear with his superiors."

"Are you sure that's what you want?" asked Alenko.

Jenkins shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not sure yet, LT. I guess I have some big decisions to make once I'm out of here. The Captain said once I am out, that I'm to be given leave to return to Earth and at least visit my folks."

Shepard grinned.

_At least he has family that cares._

"Take your time making your choice, Jenkins. That's the only advice I can give. But, working with Anderson would not be a bad career path. He's a good man, and he'll be good to work with. You'll learn a lot from him, no matter what."

"Whatever I end up doing, Commander, all I can do is say thank you. To yourself, and Alenko. You saved my life. I owe you both. Big time."

Shepard grinned, but waved his hand in dismissal. "You owe Alenko and myself nothing, Jenkins. We merely made sure a young soldier under our command simply didn't become another statistic."

"Agreed," stated Alenko, "We were all just doing our jobs on Eden Prime. We just want to make sure you're okay, Jenkins. That's all."

Jenkins grinned. "I'll be up and around causing trouble in no time."

Shepard nodded. "That's good to hear, Jenkins. Right, we've got to go. We've got another mission to tackle."

Jenkins nodded, as he shook each of their hands. "Understood, sir. Thanks for dropping by and checking in. Good to see a friendly face."

Alenko and Ashley exited the room as Shepard stayed for a moment. "Keep in touch, Jenkins. Let me know what you decide to do. Okay?"

Jenkins nodded. "Sure thing. Spectre." He grinned.

Shepard just grinned and nodded, before turning and walking out of the room.

* * *

_A/N - In case anyone forgot, Jenkins survived Eden Prime. I have quite a good idea of how to fit him in the story, but that is for the future._

_Updates will be slower for the next three or so weeks, the World Cup being on and all. Far too many other distractions as well. Never fear though, kind readers, there are still plenty of chapters already written for upload, but it's a constant process of editing, revising etc etc_


	16. Chapter 15 - The Admiral

_A/N – Right, I've spent the first 15 or so chapters establishing the story, some of the characters other than Shepard, and also the foundations of friendship (and maybe more) between Shepard and Tali. Now, the thing is, most other stories I've read either have either renegade Shepard (tough, uncompromising bastard), __paragon Shepard (almost infallable and without fault) or even the humorous idiot (not too often though.)_

_I__'ve touched on Shepard's back-story earlier in this story, plus I made numerous references to his past in 'Promises' – his loneliness, his dislike of the hero-worship he receives etc. Must admit, though, that I'm slightly nervous about uploading this chapter, and a number of future chapters, because there'll be quite a bit about his non-battlefield character revealed, a lot of it based on his past, a past which still haunts him. It's quite different to the character you read in 'Promises' (if you've read that already). I'll have to see what people think._

* * *

Shepard was in his quarters on the _Normandy_, reading a datapad about an extremist group he had never heard of.

Cerberus.

According to the files that Admiral Kahoku had left for him at the embassy on the Citadel, Cerberus had been a black-ops division, originally with ties to the Alliance, but which had since gone rogue. The Systems Alliance and Citadel Council had both classified Cerberus as a terrorist organisation. As a Spectre, Shepard was now tasked with finding out what he could about Cerberus and their operations. Shepard was in two minds, as this was taking time away from his search for Saren, but after personal requests from both Kahoku and Anderson for assistance, Shepard agreed to help however he could.

Kahoku had since disappeared off the grid. His last words to Shepard were that he would be investigating Cerberus and that he would report whatever findings he could. There had been silence for days. Shepard was concerned. His gut was telling him the news, either about Kahoku or Cerberus, wouldn't be good.

The comm. crackled into life. "Commander, we're 10 minutes out from Binthu."

"Thanks, Joker. Ask the team to meet me down in the hangar."

"Aye-aye, Commander."

Shepard made his way down to the hangar and towards the Mako, where his appointed team were starting to assemble.

"Shepard, what are the mission details?" asked Alenko.

"We're tracking a group called Cerberus. Ever heard of them?"

Four people shook their heads in answer.

"Okay, from the data I've been given, Cerberus are a pro-human organisation, apparently working for the 'advancement of humanity' in the galaxy. The Alliance and Council have written them off as nothing more than terrorists. Considering the number of incidents they have apparently been involved in, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of humans and non-humans, I'm inclined to agree."

"What do we expect to find on Binthu?" asked Garrus.

"Not entirely sure. A base of operations. Probably not their headquarters. However, this was the last planet that Admiral Kahoku communicated from. I'm not sure if he's still here or not. My gut tells me he may have been captured."

"So this may be a rescue mission?" asked Ashley.

"Yes. But the most important aspect is to wipe out anything to do with Cerberus. Tali, like Noveria, you're tasked with gathering as much information about them as possible. Garrus, you'll man the gun like usual. Ash, Alenko, you're on board because I want Alliance soldiers along for this."

All four acknowledged his orders with a simple nod.

"Okay people, we drop in five minutes. Grab your gear and board the Mako."

The Mako landed on Binthu without incident. Tali was busy checking her scanners while Garrus was searching his surroundings with the turret.

"Did anyone else see that pyramid?" asked Shepard.

"Is that what it was?" replied Tali.

"Yeah, we have some of those on Earth. They were built thousands of years ago. Many are in a country known as Egypt, but there are also others in various regions of the planet. There were conspiracy theories a long time ago that some of the pyramids were not even human, but were built by aliens. It's been established that the Protheans were likely keeping an eye on events on Earth, from the discovery of the information on Mars, but some believe we may have been visited by another alien race in the intervening 50,000 years."

"Do you want to go check it out, Shepard?" asked Alenko, who was sitting in the back of the Mako.

"No, it's okay, Alenko. I just thought it was interesting to see a pyramid on another planet. Further evidence of how alike we all may be in the end. Right, Tali, anything on the scanners?"

"I have three structures on scanners, Shepard. One north, one east and one south. Guess you should just pick one to start with."

"Good idea, Tali. Let's go north."

Shepard was surprised to find no opposition as they made their way to the first facility. However, unlike previous worlds they had visited, the landscape on Binthu was covered in hills and mountains. Shepard figured they must have spent half their time climbing.

Riding a crest, Shepard noticed a facility ahead. And the two rockets coming towards the Mako.

"Brace for impact!"

Shepard tried firing the boosters to leap over the rockets. One went underneath the Mako, but the other went straight into the front of the machine.

"Shields at 90% Shepard!"

"Garrus, take out those turrets!" ordered Shepard.

Garrus didn't respond, the sound of the Mako's own turret firing in response the answer.

"One turret down, Shepard. Preparing to fire at the other one."

Shepard manoeuvred the Mako, avoiding another rocket, with Garrus taking his time to fire the turret in response again. Within seconds, the Mako rocked again as the Mako's turret fired, and the second enemy turret was gone. Shepard drove the Mako towards the facility and made the signal to disembark. Shepard gathered the team before entering the facility.

"Okay, keep in mind that the other two facilities will likely have defences like this. We'll take it carefully going forward. Garrus, keep that turret ready next time."

Garrus gave a brisk nod before Shepard and his crew descended the stairs down into the facility, finding themselves in a hallway, leading towards a closed door.

"Weapons at the ready, folks. Assume hostiles on the other side of this door."

Shepard pulled his assault rifle from his back as he heard the clicks of weapons being readied. He slowly made his way to the door. Keeping in whatever cover he could find, he pressed the button to open it. With a hand motion, he signalled Ashley and Kaidan to enter. The two moved through into the room, weapons up and ready to fire.

"Clear, Shepard," came Ash's voice.

The other three moved in behind Ashley and Kaidan. The room was empty, apart from a non-working console and various pieces of furniture, seemingly abandoned. Shepard took point again, leading the way through another closed door, and another hallway. Another button, and this time a larger room was revealed. In the middle were four barriers, surrounding something Shepard couldn't quite see. But, more of a concern, were the Cerberus soldiers starting to fire at their position.

"Return fire!" ordered Shepard, as he charged into room. One of the Cerberus soldiers fired into him, Shepard's shields faltering as he ran. The other soldier looked on in surprise, and slight fear, as Shepard closed quickly on his position. Shepard raised the butt of his rifle, slamming it into the soldiers face, knocking him to the ground. Shepard quickly adjusted his rifle in his hands, and fired a burst into the soldiers face. He turned to see his four companions moving into the room, taking cover and returning fire at the other soldiers in the room.

With quick hand movements to indicate what he wanted, he split the team in two as they made their way around the barriers, making sure to keep in cover as the opposition forces found cover of their own. Shepard quickly checked his shields, noticing they were slowly regenerating, so with a grunt, he moved onwards, Tali beside him like usual.

"You're crazy, Shepard!" stated Tali quietly, with a chuckle. Shepard just grinned back in response. There were only another three Cerberus soldiers in the room, and Shepard and his group made short work of them, tech and biotic attacks wreaking havoc in the defensive line, with Shepard and Ashley laying down constant fields of fire that couldn't be escaped. When the last body fell, Shepard turned to check what was behind the barriers.

"Rachni! Tali, open the barrier. Use that console over there," ordered Shepard, "The rest of you, prepare to fire."

Tali moved towards the console, and with a push of a couple of buttons, the barriers lowered. Shepard and the other three opened fire on the small rachni creatures. They were easily dealt with.

"Shepard, what are Cerberus doing with rachni?" asked Alenko, once they had all stowed their weapons, standing together in a group, looking over the creatures.

"I'm not sure, Alenko, but whatever it is, it can't be good," replied Shepard. He sighed slightly. This was not good news at all. Were Cerberus trying to develop their own chemical or biological weapons? Shepard's resolve hardened. Like Binary Helix, Cerberus would not get away with this. And there was no sign of Kahoku either. But there were two other facilities, maybe he was there. Or so Shepard hoped…

The second facility the five entered was very much like the first. More Cerberus soldiers, and this time a larger rachni creature. Though only the one. But, again, still no sign of Kahoku. Shepard could now only hope he was in the third facility. Otherwise…

* * *

A few minutes later, after another fun ride in the Mako, traversing the mountains of Binthu, the group of five were once again stood in the first room of the third Cerberus facility. Shepard was deep in thought, standing before his team, before he finally spoke.

"Okay, gang, there is a good chance we may find Admiral Kahoku in here. He may be held prisoner. It is likely he is being held as a hostage. So make sure to check your targets before opening fire. Otherwise, I anticipate the same opposition as the previous two facilities."

Shepard unhitched his assault rifle and made his way down the small hallway towards the next door. Again, taking cover, he opened the door. Bullets started flying through the open door. It appears that Cerberus were ready for them this time. Carefully, he peered around the corner to see at least two soldiers in good cover while he could hear gunfire to his right from at least one further source.

"Alenko, can you get those two out of cover?" asked Shepard, pointing into the room.

"I'll give it a go, Shepard," replied Alenko, who moved into position behind Shepard.

"I'll cover you, Alenko. GO!"

Alenko shimmered in blue as his biotics flared, and he launched an attack towards the two in cover. One of the two soldiers stood up with Shepard unloading a burst of fire, which quickly disintegrated his shields and the soldier went down.

"Ash, get into cover behind that pylon there," ordered Shepard, pointing in front of him, "Garrus, Tali, move into cover to the right. Alenko and I will provide cover fire."

A succession of nods as the team prepared to move.

Shepard and Alenko started firing. "Move! Move!" as the three others ducked and ran to their assigned positions. The three others started firing, allowing Alenko and Shepard to move from their positions, Alenko joining Ashley, Shepard joining Garrus and Tali. She was busy looking into what was behind the barriers.

"Keelah! What are those things?" she asked, concern in her voice.

Shepard hadn't even looked yet, assuming there would simply be more rachni. He turned to see what appeared to be humanoid creatures, but they looked… plant-like?

_What the fuck….?_

"Time to eliminate these bastards and get some answers. Tali, get across to that console and take down the barriers. We're taking out all these at once."

Shepard stood and laid down a field of fire as Tali moved over to the console, and within seconds, the barriers was down. The sound that came from the creatures was disturbing, but the idea worked, as the Cerberus troops were distracted, firing at the other creatures, resulting in Shepard and his group being able to move up undisturbed, taking out first the Cerberus troops, and then whatever the hell those creatures were. It took some sustained fire, as the creatures were tough to take down, but they were susceptible to biotics and bullets, just like anything else.

Shepard was stowing his weapon as he heard Ashley whisper.

"Oh no, it's Kahoku…"

Shepard turned to see Ashley standing over a body. He ran and kneeled next to it. He removed a glove and placed two fingers on his neck checking for a pulse. He couldn't find one.

_He is not dead. Not yet…._

"Starting chest compressions. Alenko, come help!"

"Shepard, I…"

Shepard looked up, glaring at Alenko. "Now, Lieutenant!"

Wordlessly, Alenko sat beside Shepard as the two started giving CPR. The other three watched on, as Shepard was consumed with nothing else, other than trying to restore life to the Admiral.

"You are not dead yet, Admiral. You are going to take the fight to these fucking monsters. You hear me, Admiral!" Shepard said quietly, almost to himself.

Shepard kept up his compressions, Alenko giving the kiss of life in between. Shepard was refusing to give up. Refusing to believe the Admiral was gone. The other four knew in their hearts and minds that it was a pointless exercise, but they were doing it for the Commander. But, after watching his futile efforts for a few minutes, Tali eventually moved across to Shepard, laying a hand on his shoulder.

"Shepard…," she said softly. Shepard looked up at her as she spoke. She could see his eyes. The shimmer of tears. The grief in his face. He looked back down at Kahoku's body. He visibly slumped as he stopped the compressions.

"Okay, Alenko, okay. That's enough…," he whispered, gently tapping Alenko's shoulder, indicating that he should stop what he was doing.

Shepard stood up and took a couple of paces away. He could feel himself tense up. Rage coursing through his veins. This wasn't right. Kahoku didn't deserve that. Not after everything he'd sacrificed. Not after surviving the Blitz. The man was a hero. He didn't deserve a death like this.

"FUUUUCCCKKK!" he yelled to the emptiness of the room. Then he slumped once again. He closed his eyes. He took a few short breaths. Calmed himself down before turning back to his group. He walked silently back to Kahoku's body, kneeling down beside it.

He closed the Admiral's eyes with his fingers.

"Godspeed, Admiral," he whispered. Alenko and Ashley echoed his words, heads bowed, nothing but respect for the fallen officer.

Shepard then checked his body. Now he was surprised. There didn't appear to be a mark on him. How had he died? He checked his head and face, moving it side to side. No signs of trauma. He moved his un-gloved hand down onto his neck. Still nothing, no signs that he was even strangled. He moved his eyes and hands over his uniformed chest, down onto his arms. He rolled back a sleeve.

Needle marks.

Shepard sighed while muttering dark thoughts to himself.

They were going to pay.

Shepard looked up at his four companions. "Search the room. See if you can find anything," he ordered.

The four nodded and moved off to various consoles dotted around the room, Shepard sitting himself next to the Admiral, refusing to leave him. Eventually Tali walked back and kneeled beside him.

"Shepard, I found something."

Shepard nodded for Tali to continue.

"I think I found their main base of operations. It's on the planet Nepheron."

* * *

The _Normandy_ had just arrived in orbit of Nepheron. The rage that Shepard had felt at the discovery of Kahoku was still flowing through him. He had shut himself off from nearly everyone since leaving Binthu. He read and re-read everything he had on Cerberus. He contacted Anderson to find out anything else the Alliance knew. He wanted to know every single detail of what Cerberus were about, their organisation, their political views, and their tactics, everything and anything possible to help him track down every single person involved with Cerberus.

And put a bullet in them.

There would be no negotiation or diplomacy this time. These people were scum. Terrorists. The worst example of humanity possible. They performed brutal and horrific experiments on innocent people. They were worse than Binary Helix. Cerberus needed to be eradicated.

Completely.

The only person Shepard had made time for was, as usual, Tali. But he even put up a front towards her. She found him quieter than usual. Stand-offish. Not as interested to converse as he usually was. She knew he was hurting about the discovery of Kahoku. She didn't know how close the two were. But she knew it had something to do with Elysium. But she didn't want to ask. It was clearly a sore spot for the Commander.

Shepard walked down into the hangar where his entire ground crew stood beside the Mako.

"Who are you taking, Shepard?" Alenko asked. He looked concerned. Shepard wasn't even bothering to hide the rage on his face. Shepard knew he'd stalked the _Normandy_ since Binthu. He knew it wasn't the right conduct of a CO. But he was only human in the end, susceptible to all the same emotions as everyone else.

"Everyone is on board for this one. So everyone suit up, grab your gear and get ready to go. We're off in two minutes."

Alenko and Ashley looked surprised, but wordlessly moved off to grab their gear. Everyone else moved off as well, except Tali, who took a step towards Shepard.

"Are you sure you're okay, Shepard?" she asked, wringing her hands. She knew Shepard was consumed with rage. She could see how tense he was as he walked the ship. She just wanted to help.

_Keelah, I don't like seeing him like this. I'd give him a hug but…_

Shepard let out a breath. He looked down at Tali, but he couldn't force a smile, though. "I'm okay, Tali," he said softly, "I'll be even better once this mission is over."

Tali could only give a slight nod of the hand. Shepard closed the distance between the two, lightly laying a hand on her shoulder. "Thanks, Tali," he said, looking into her eyes. Tali had a slight smile behind her mask but just gave a brief nod of her head in response.

Shepard then turned and walked towards the Mako. His team soon joined him inside. It was a bit of squeeze with everyone on board, but no-one complained. At least not audibly. When they landed planet-side in the Mako, Shepard could tell instantly there was absolutely nothing redeeming about the planet. It looked utterly barren of life and completely inhospitable.

_Perfect location for a Cerberus base then._

"Tali, anything on scanners?"

"Yes, Shepard. It appears the facility is south-west of our current position. Approximately 800 metres."

"Right."

Shepard put the Mako in drive and, in silence, closed the distance to the facility. After climbing a mountain or two, Shepard could see the facility in the distance. To his surprise, there were no turrets defending the facilities. However, he could see a number of Cerberus personnel, walking the perimeter.

"Huh, confident assholes. No real defences," he muttered to himself, "Garrus, once we're close enough, light 'em up."

"Will do, Shepard," came the reply from behind in.

Shepard floored the Mako, flying towards the facility, aiming for the nearest group of Cerberus soldiers.

"Careful, Shepard, there is anti-tank infantry about!" came a shout from Garrus.

"Focus on them, Garrus. I'll aim for the other bastards."

Soon the team felt a crunch as the Mako ran over one of the Cerberus operatives. Tali looked across at Shepard, who still had that look of anger on his face. He was utterly focused. A look of determination spread across his face. She could still see the rage coursing through his body, in the tension of his arms and legs at the controls, the look in his eyes of sheer ferocity.

Another crunch as another victim fell under the wheels.

The Mako rocked every so often as Garrus found a new target. Tali kept her eyes on the shields, but she need not have worried. The opposition was barely scratching the Mako.

"No targets, Shepard," announced Garrus.

"Good." Shepard brought the Mako to a halt. "Everyone out."

The group assembled at the entrance to the facility awaiting orders. Shepard was the last out of the Mako and slowly walked over to the group, who all turned towards him as he stood before them. Shepard let out a breath before speaking, gathering his thoughts. He wanted nothing more than to walk in and shoot every single person in the facility.

He knew that wasn't the example to set. He knew his team looked to him to set an example. He couldn't let the rage consume him completely. He knew he had to do the right thing.

Anderson and Kahoku would expect the best from him.

"Okay, standard tactical plan once we're inside. We will try and take prisoners…"

That comment received a number of raised eyebrows. Shepard chose to ignore those.

"But we will return fire without hesitation. I find it unlikely we will exit the facility with any prisoners, but if we can take anyone alive for further interrogation, then that is a win regarding the circumstances. Understood?"

He looked around at his team as everyone gave a nod. Without a further word, the group entered the facility. Shepard was not surprised to find it was an almost exact replica of all the others they had visited. Shepard walked to the first door, holding his hand to signal halt. He turned to see everyone take what cover they could as he pushed the button to the door.

Shepard ran in, taking cover behind a box. He signalled for the next two to follow him into cover. Shepard walked along and peered around the corner.

"No targets," he announced, as he signalled everyone else to fall in behind him, "Okay, no doubt we'll run into opposition in the next room. Weapons hot."

Shepard moved to the next door, checking behind that everyone was behind him. "Once I press this button, move two by two into cover. Engage any hostiles immediately."

Shepard pressed the button, ducked and quickly moved into cover as gunfire started to echo around the room. He had immediately noticed that the room was different to most others that he had come across, far larger than normal but with far more cover available, not only for his team, but for the enemy as well. He quickly turned to make sure his team was following his instruction. Tali and Alenko joined him in cover, while he watched Liara, Wrex, Garrus and Ashley moved to his right into more cover.

The next few minutes were completely hectic as Shepard and his team engaged numerous Cerberus soldiers, commandos and engineers, who were well dug in. Bullets flew, tech attacks burst and bodies shimmered in blue as biotic flares were fired between the two sides. Shields faltered and armour was fried as each side wore down the other. The bloodied bodies of Cerberus operatives were left leaning against containers or lying on the floor, unlikely to ever be buried. Shepard watched as Liara went down behind cover, her shields completely gone, and her armour pock-marked by bullets. She looked up and gave the okay sign, but she was no longer in the fight.

Soon, though, Shepard and the rest of his crew had the enemy back up into a corner, fighting for their lives. The enemy soldiers, of which there were around five, had sufficient cover for now, but Shepard knew they were defeated. He thought he'd give them a way out.

"Cease fire!" he called out to his team. He heard the enemy stop firing themselves as quiet descended for a moment. "Cerberus operatives, my name is Commander Shepard. I am giving you an opportunity to put down your weapons and escape with your lives. If you choose to surrender, you WILL be taken prisoner, but you will not have to give up your lives for what is clearly a lost cause. Choose not to surrender, and you will die. You have 10 seconds to comply."

Shepard signalled to Tali to count down 10 seconds on her omni-tool. He heard nothing from the enemy for the next 8.

The enemy opened fire after 9.

Shepard sighed. He had tried to do the right thing.

"Squad, open fire!"

It was a bloodbath.

As Shepard stepped over the dead bodies, he removed his helmet, wiping his brow, wondering why on earth they had not taken his offer. For what point had they thrown away their lives? Did they believe in the cause that much that would take suicide by bullet? He simply didn't understand.

"Squad, follow me, we'll go further in."

Shepard opened the door to another hallway, leading to a t-junction. He walked on and turned right, opening the door to find what appeared to be the living quarters. The squad had a quick look around but found nothing worthwhile. Shepard turned and walked into the other room. This looked more promising, with several working consoles. He walked up to one and looked at the screen. It looked promising.

"Tali, see if you can get this console working. I want to know what you can find out."

Tali keyed her omni-tool and started hacking the console. Files started streaming. "Keelah, Shepard, you won't believe the detail I'm getting. They're encrypted, but there must be billions of terabytes of data here."

"Good work, Tali. Get what you can and we'll get the hell out of here."

Shepard stood and watched for a moment before he found a chair and sat down, running a hand down his face. It didn't feel like a victory. It didn't feel like anything, if he was completely honest. He knew this was likely to be barely a scratch on the surface regarding Cerberus. But he knew it was a start.

No matter what, he would continue the fight.

* * *

Tali was finishing her shift in engineering. Cheerfully exiting the core, she felt the tiredness sweep over her as the elevator slowly made its usual ascent. She walked through into the mess, ready to grab a paste tube and drink before heading to bed. The mess was relatively dark, and she only noticed the shape of someone sat at the table when she turned back from the fridge. She almost jumped in fright as she turned around. She walked over to see Shepard sat there, a single datapad, a small case, a small glass and an opened, half-empty bottle of something sat in front of him. She could read the label as she walked over, something called 'Jack Daniels'.

_Is Shepard drinking alone?_

"Shepard?" she asked softly.

She watched as he slowly turned his head. She noticed his eyes were glazed over. She could only read grief in the expression that he returned, his eyes wet and bloodshot. She was unsure it was from tears or something else.

"Shepard? What's wrong?" she asked quietly, taking a seat across from the Commander.

Wordlessly, Shepard handed the datapad to Tali. She started to read it.

_Rear Admiral James Charles Kahoku_

_Born 13.6.2134_

_Died 6.5.2183_

_The Systems Alliance is saddened to announce the death of Rear Admiral James Charles Kahoku._

_A respected war veteran, Rear Admiral Kahoku fought with distinction during the Skyllian Blitz, commanding ground forces in the defence of Elysium, in conjunction with Alliance forces in orbit._

_Kahoku also served on numerous Alliance craft during his service, including earning distinction during his service on the SSV London._

_Kahoku had earned the loyalty and respect of all men and women in the Alliance for his service. As a mark of respect, all flags will be flown at half-mast for the next 48 hours._

_Kahoku passed away from natural causes on Friday._

_James Charles Kahoku is survived by his wife, Amanda, and three young children._

Shepard picked up the small case next to the half-empty bottle. He opened it and moved it with his fingers across the table towards Tali. "My Star of Terra. I was given that for what I did on Elysium. I'm sure you've probably heard about that by now."

Tali nodded her head.

"Kahoku pinned that on my chest in decoration for my service. Called me a hero. I'm not. I was just doing my job. Men like Kahoku. Leaders. Leaders of men. Men who have earned respect on the battlefield. And not just of their men. But… everyone. Civilian and soldier alike. They are the heroes. The men loved him for it…"

Shepard let out a breath. "You can keep that, by the way. Something to remember me by once you go back to the fleet," he said with a slight, but sad, smile.

"I can't take this, Shepard. You earned this," replied Tali.

"I didn't earn anything. I merely survived a horrible situation and made sure as many people as possible didn't die. That makes me a survivor, not a hero. Please, keep it. I'd like you to have it."

Tali wanted to argue, but looked at Shepard and she could see he was being honest. She nodded her head and slipped the medal out of the case. She put it in one of her pockets.

Tali watched as Shepard poured a glass full of the amber liquid. He then stood up, stumbling slightly as he raised the glass in some form of salute.

"To Kahoku. He was the best of us, and now he's gone. Wherever you are, here's to you, Admiral."

He then drank down the entire glass, before placing it back on the table, sitting back down in his chair with a sigh. She watched him take a couple of deep breaths. She could sense a bundle of emotions in the tension of his arms and body, the constant flexing of his hands.

"It's not fair, Tali," continued Shepard, speaking softly, "He had a family waiting for him back home. And for him to die like that, alone in some facility, at the hands of those fucking scumbags…."

Tali watched Shepard's hands balled into fists, slightly shaking with anger. She looked into his eyes. She could see the anger there, but also the sadness.

A tear slowly ran down his cheek.

"But, Shepard…"

"Tali, I know that at least if I die, it won't affect anyone else. Sure, some people will probably be sad. But I won't be leaving anyone behind. Certainly not a family. I know I'll just get a nice little funeral and probably a star on some wall back on Earth, and maybe my name on some form of memorial on Arcturus Station. No-one will really miss me in the end. I'll just become some name in a history book. The first human Spectre. That's about it."

That caught Tali completely by surprise. Shepard thought about his own death that way? He thought that little about himself? He didn't realise that impact he had on other lives?

_How could he not realise how much he means to us? _

_To me?_

"Men like Kahoku, they don't deserve death like that. Heroes like him should die one of two ways. Either with a gun in their hand on the battlefield, with his brothers in arms, or surrounded by their loved ones at home as they take their last breath. Dying like that, a needle in the arm, alone, on some shithole planet in the middle of nowhere… Cerberus stole that from him."

"Shepard, how could you think so little of yourself?"

"What do you see in front of you, Tali? Really? I'm just a soldier. That's all I am and all I'll ever be. All I've known for the past 10 years is being ordered around the galaxy to go and kill other people. It's what I've been trained to, or told to do, since I was 18. For over a decade, I've been sent into every hellhole possible to go kill other people. I mean, fuck, my kill count must be in the hundreds. And I sit here and think, why? And then I think, what else is there to my life? I don't have a family. I have colleagues. I had some friends, though most of them are gone. In the ground. There's no-one really close. No-one to love. I've been alone all my life. I mean, really, what the fuck am I actually fighting for?

Humanity?

The Alliance?

The Council?

An ideal?

I have no real reason to fight. I merely do what I'm told and try to survive. At least for my men, I will and do fight for, to make sure they can at least get home alive, back to their friends, their families, their loved ones. Like you, so you can go back to the fleet. And Wrex, so he can go home to Tuchanka. That much I can do. Then you read about people like Kahoku. A real reason to fight. They have a family. Something to fight for back home. They have someone to go home to. Loved ones who will be waiting for them. People like me. All we have is the service. We will eventually die alone. And be quietly forgotten. All I can do until then is survive. It's what I've done all my life."

Tali could feel the tears roll down her cheeks as Shepard spoke. She couldn't believe he thought his life was so worthless. That it meant nothing. She reached across to grab one of his hands.

"Shepard, you mean more to people than you realise. You are far more than 'just a soldier'…"

Shepard just shook his head sadly. "No, Tali. A couple of medals and my name in the papers. What does that really mean in the end? It's nothing real…"

"But…"

"Tali, I appreciate your concern. But, please, for now… just leave me alone…"

Tali could feel her heart break. She withdrew her hand and sat watching Shepard for a moment. He looked at her and gave a sad smile, before taking the bottle in hand, standing and appeared to stagger as he walked to his quarters, his entire body slumped as if carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. Tali stood up and walked to one of the sleeping pods, audible sobs of her own as she stepped in and close the pod lid.

She knew she cried for him and herself until eventually falling asleep.


	17. Chapter 16 - Fallen People

Tali was busy working at her usual console in engineering. Truth be told, though, there wasn't much work to be done at the moment, the Tantalus drive core was functioning properly as usual. But there was always something for Tali to learn, a new system to check, perhaps even some way she could even improve one of the many systems that drove the core. Adams was happy to provide as much information as possible. Tali thought anything she could learn may help her own fleet in the end. Of course, she would clear anything with Shepard first. She thought that a lot of the system information was confidential, or at least classified by the Alliance, so wouldn't feel comfortable without his express consent.

Just thinking of Shepard caused Tali to stop for a moment and think. It had been a few days since that night in the mess, when she'd seen Shepard show the chinks in the wall he had built up around himself, the man behind his own mask so to speak, with the worries, the concerns, and the pain. The more she thought, the more she realised that she didn't quite know what made Shepard tick. She knew of his deeds, before they had met and during their time together. She watched him, from near and far, as he dealt with all the problems thrown his way. But she wanted to get closer to him, even if only as a friend. She wanted to break down that wall and get to know the 'real' Shepard. She figured there were things, deep down, that he kept hidden. She was intrigued as to what they were. She wondered if she would ever get close enough that he would open up. She sighed with sadness at the thought that he felt so alone.

A cleared throat behind her grabbed her attention. She turned around to see Shepard standing there.

With a smile on his face.

_Keelah, that's good to see._

"Hi Shepard, what's up?"

"Morning Tali. I know we haven't talked much in the past couple of days. But I just wanted to come down to say thank you."

"For what, Shepard?"

"For being there. And for caring. I was in a very bad place the other night. It wasn't just Kahoku's death that hit me hard. There's a lot of inner turmoil. Inner thoughts, that I usually try to suppress and keep to myself, that came out. A lot of it just rests in here," he said, pointing to his head, "But, I've been thinking about it a lot since the other night. For a long time, I felt I was alone. To be honest, I was alone. I will tell you one day what I mean. But, now, there are at least two people who do care. Who have been there for me when I needed help.

First, there is Anderson. I forget how much he's been there for me, time and again, ever since that first day I met him. I trust him with my life. Even when he's not there in person, I know he's there for me, even if it's just a voice at the end of the line.

But now there is you. And I wanted to thank you. For being a good friend. And I'm sorry for just brushing you off that night. I know you were there because you were concerned. And because you cared. I shouldn't have reacted how I did. Pushed you way. You didn't deserve that, simply for trying to understand."

"You don't need to thank me, Shepard," she said quietly, looking down, blushing slightly under her mask.

She noticed Shepard move closer. She saw him raise his hand to the bottom of her mask, lightly lifting her head. She looked into his eyes, as he looked into hers. He grinned, ever so slightly.

"You mean a lot to me, Tali," he said.

_What does he mean by that?_

Shepard quickly removed his hand and took a step back. She watched as his face slightly changed. He looked almost unsure of himself. He cleared his throat, opened his mouth once or twice as if to say something else, but he wouldn't meet her eyes as she searched his face.

"I should go."

Without another word, Tali watched, dumbfounded, as he turned and slowly walked out of the room without a backwards glance.

* * *

The Mako was in bad shape, Garrus sighing to himself every so often as he slid underneath the machine, fixing another piece of damaged armoured plating that lined the vehicle. Shepard knew what he was doing when he drove the Mako, but he was still a bloody mad-man, or so Garrus thought, chuckling to himself as he hammered away. He was sure half the damage was caused by Shepard thundering up and down the mountain ranges that lined the numerous planets the crew landed, and seemed to take great delight in launching the Mako off the highest of peaks and using the thrusters to not-so-gently land back on level ground. Still, at least the Mako stood up to most of the damage either Shepard, or the enemy, dealt.

Garrus often found himself thinking of his time back in the turian army while he worked away on the Mako. Like Shepard, the team Shepard had assembled didn't know much about his life prior to joining up on the _Normandy._ Unlike Shepard, he hadn't spoken much about it because he simply hadn't been asked. And, if he was honest, they probably wouldn't find it terribly interesting anyway. He had joined up for national service at 15, as every turian was expected, given the engrained militaristic society that the Turian Hierarchy was. He had always shown an aptitude for anything mechanical, so had applied to join the engineering corps after completing his basic training. By the age of 20, he has ascended the ranks of the turian army, and was therefore one of thousands to be chosen as an applicant to join the Spectres. However, once his father got wind of his application, any further progress was shut down and Garrus decided to at least stay on the Citadel and join C-Sec instead. He had happily worked at C-Sec until the Saren case arrived on his desk.

Garrus was just sliding out from underneath the Mako when a shadow was cast over him.

"Garrus," boomed a voice. The turian looked up in some surprise to see Wrex standing over him. Leering would have been more appropriate. In any other situation, Garrus would have feared for his life, being stuck on his back with a krogan standing over him. To his surprise, Wrex offered him a hand to help him up.

_What does Wrex want? We've barely shared two words, apart from when we're on mission…_

Garrus stood up with help from Wrex, wiping his hands on a rag before answering. "Hello Wrex, what's up?"

"I'm interested in hearing your opinion about something, Garrus."

Garrus raised his eyebrows at that one.

_Now I'm interested as well…_

"Okay, Wrex, you now have me intrigued. What do you want to discuss?"

"I take it you've heard Shepard and I discuss the krogan."

"Sure, it's hard to miss Shepard and his rounds. He's always popping down to chat with at least one of us."

"Very well, Garrus. I'd like your honest opinion, being a turian, but being a young turian. What do you think of the genophage?"

Garrus gulped. This was not a conversation he wanted to have. Not as a turian. And not with a krogan. And certainly not with a krogan stood right in front of him, who towered over him, and who could explode at any moment, though he seemed harmless enough most of the time.

But, he was still intrigued.

"Why do you ask, Wrex?"

"I ask as Shepard and I have talked about a number of issues to do with the krogan. I am interested in what other people think. I'm particularly interested in what you think."

Garrus thought for a moment. "Why don't we go up to the mess and grab a beer, Wrex. I could do with a cold one after working on the Mako for the past few hours."

Wrex grunted in agreement and the two walked towards the elevator. Once ascended, the pair entered the mess to see most of the team already sat at one of the tables. Only Shepard seemed to be missing. Wrex took a seat while Garrus grabbed drinks for the two of them, while other requests were soon shouted across the mess. Garrus sighed but grabbed the requested drinks, placing them around the table before taking a seat himself.

The others at the table – Ashley, Kaidan, Tali and Liara – all looked at Garrus and Wrex as they took a long drink from their bottles before sitting in silence. Garrus was thinking of where to start.

"So, the genophage, Garrus?"

"You're discussing the genophage?" Ashley asked, slightly concern in her voice.

Wrex nodded.

"Um... Why are you discussing that?"

"I'm just intrigued to hear opinions. The genophage has been going on for near one thousand years now. The turians were responsible for its release. I'm intrigued as to what my turian colleague here has been told about it and what he thinks."

"Humanity has only been on the scene for less than 30 years, Wrex, and we don't know much if anything about the genophage," said Kaidan, "What's the story behind it?"

Garrus and Wrex looked at each other. "Whose version would you like to hear?" asked Wrex, looking at Garrus again. The pair stared at each other before Garrus just gave a brief nod.

Wrex stood up and started pacing the mess hall. He wasn't angry about the genophage. He was past anger. He wasn't angry at Garrus. As far as Wrex thought, he was alright. For a turian. But he was just intrigued by what young turians were being taught. He knew the humans wouldn't know much if anything. Liara would be aware, but barely being past one hundred, it was unlikely she would know much. Tali and the quarians may be aware, but with everything that had happened to them since the geth uprising, he could at least find some sympathy with their own predicament.

"I'll start at the beginning but keep it short. Four thousand years ago, the ancient krogans were an advanced race. Technology. Literature. Art. Culture. We had it all. You wouldn't believe it to look at us, and Tuchanka, now. But it was there. And, of course, we were brave warriors. Honour and courage. Every army lives by those ideals, whether krogan, human or turian. But we went to war with each other. Not conventional. Nuclear. We destroyed our planet.

Idiots.

Then the salarians arrived and 'uplifted' us. There was only one reason they ever showed interest in the krogan. The rachni. They knew that only we could defeat the rachni. And we did. We drove them all the way back to their home system and wiped them out. Extinction. Well, so we thought…

Anyway, for a while we were seen as saviours, and were rewarded with new worlds to colonise. Instead of using this new-found good-will to improve our own lives, warlords continuously pushed for further expansion. Our numbers exploded due to incessant breeding. It was ridiculous.

Then the rebellions happened. The krogan went to war with the Council for near three hundred years. We nearly wiped the floor with them too. We used… interesting methods at times. That was, until, the turians arrived on the scene. They employed the same tactics we did. But went even further. As warriors, I respect them. As a species… well… it's a good thing you're okay, Garrus.

To stop the war, the salarians engineered something called the genophage. The turians released it. That stopped the war in its tracks. Our birth rates are no longer enough to replace those that are lost. Quite simply, the krogan are a dying race. And no-one is doing anything to stop it."

Wrex stopped pacing, looking directly as Garrus, who had been listening in silence. "That is why I ask, Garrus. Hasn't the genophage gone on long enough? Does anyone care enough to stop it?"

Garrus was thoughtful for a moment. He figured he had to say the right thing otherwise this whole situation could explode.

"At the time, Wrex, it was the only option available to prevent our own defeat. The krogan forced our hand. It was a desperate measure in a desperate situation."

"What about a thousand years later?"

"Has no-one attempted to cure the genophage in all this time?" asked Kaidan.

"No-one cares about the krogan, human. Even the krogan barely care about the krogan. Most of us, anyway. Shepard at least shows an interest, though there is little he can actually do."

"What has he asked or said?" asked Tali.

Wrex shrugged his shoulders. "He just asks a lot of questions." The group laughed at that one. "But he's taken an interest in the krogan. He seems to sympathise with our plight." There was a sea of nodding heads at that statement. That was the Commander they had already started to see.

"While many may believe the genophage has gone on long enough, Wrex, what would the krogan do if there was a cure?" asked Garrus.

Wrex could only grumble. He knew that was the one question preventing any cure. Why no-one showed any interest in even attempting a cure. The Council certainly didn't care. Even the krogan didn't seem to care anymore. The krogan were dying and Wrex knew that if nothing was done soon, they would follow the rachni into extinction.

"The problem, Garrus, is that those of us who would like to change the krogan for the better have little chance of being able to do anything. Those left on Tuchanka are stuck in their old ways. All they care about are their little fiefdoms of power and care nothing for the progression of the krogan as a species."

"Unfortunately, Wrex, there is your answer on why no-one is doing anything about the genophage," finished Garrus.

Wrex just grumbled and sat back down. Silence descended upon the table for a while.

"We lost billions to the geth," stated Tali quietly, "I can at least see the viewpoint of Wrex and his own people."

"That was also your own fault," answered Garrus.

Tali glared at Garrus from behind her mask. "Our fault? How can the near genocide of my people be our own fault?"

"If you hadn't created the geth, you'd still have your home-world, instead of being forced to travel the galaxy in your flotilla of ships. You should have known the creation of AI was illegal."

"We didn't create AI, Garrus. The geth were never meant to be sentient machines. It was only when we finally understood how the geth networks helped create 'intelligence' that it was too late to stop. When we tried to stop it, the geth fought back. But that still does not justify the wholesale slaughter of my people. One percent, Garrus! One percent of our population survived the war!"

"Why did the geth rise up in the first place?" asked Kaidan.

"The geth were created to only do the mundane tasks quarians no longer wanted to do. Manual labour and repetitive tasks that take no real thought. For many years, everything was fine. The geth were simply machines, tools to make our lives easier. But then we started allowing geth to complete more complex tasks. And they subsequently started to learn. According to the history, one day a geth turned to its master and asked 'Why are we here?' and 'What is our purpose in life?'"

"I gather they are considered signs of intelligence?"

Tali nodded. "The network on which the geth expanded more than we had anticipated. The more geth in one area, the more they shared data, the more intelligent they became. As I said, once we understood what was happening, we tried to pull the plug. But it was too late…"

"Sounds like the geth were only trying to defend themselves," responded Garrus.

Tali sighed. "In a way, Garrus, I guess you are right on that account. The war was incredibly short. We had no real defence against the geth once they rose up against us. The quarian people had become lazy due to their so-called technical superiority and were unable to respond to geth tactics.

Once the war was lost and the Exodus completed, the Council then stripped us of our embassy and effectively force us to wander the stars, giving us no help to fight the geth or aid in our own plight. Any time we find a world that we may possibly find possible to live on, the Council deny us any rights to it."

"That seems unfair," said Kaidan.

Tali just shrugged her shoulders. "Guess it's punishment for our people. Garrus' opinion that we are to blame for unleashing the geth on the galaxy is one shared by most people."

"Is there any chance of peace?" asked Ashley.

Tali scoffed. "Certainly not. There will be no forgiveness for the genocide of my people. The only way this will eventually end will be the complete destruction of the geth and the reclamation of our home-world. Though I doubt that will ever happen in my lifetime."

"So you will commit genocide of the geth?" asked Garrus, a sarcastic tone in his voice.

"The geth are not living creatures, Garrus. They are creations of the quarian people. They are nothing but machines."

"They appear sentient enough to me, Tali," responded Garrus.

"It does sound like you want nothing more than revenge, Tali," added Kaidan.

"Would you not want revenge for the systematic slaughter of your own people, Kaidan? Say the war with the turians had escalated into full-scale conflict, resulting in the loss of billions of your own people. Would you not want to see their blood shed in return?"

"Hmmm… We do have an old human saying, an eye for an eye. Generally we try not to apply that to our way of thinking nowadays. But… I see what you mean."

Tali sighed. "Anyway, arguing about the geth is useless. We can't afford to go to war with the geth. Not with our numbers. And geth technology now seems far superior to anything we have available. We will just continue to make do with what we have and hope that something will come along one day to possibly help us."

Silence descended upon the table once again, each person stuck with their own thoughts for a moment as they continued to sip their drinks.

"We need something more upbeat to talk about," stated Alenko, before a slight grin spread across his face, "So, Tali, the Commander seems to have developed quite the soft spot for you?"

Tali blushed behind her mask while there were sniggers from others around the table.

"What… What do you mean, Alenko? We're just friends."

"It may look that way, Tali. But he's let you sleep in his quarters. He's constantly down in the core talking to you. He's bought you a lot of gifts. These are all gestures of a man who is more than a friend."

"It does seem that the Shepard is particularly enamoured with you, Tali," stated Liara, adding her voice to the conversation, having remained quiet, but observant, otherwise. Tali couldn't be sure, but she thought there was a tone of jealousy in her voice.

Tali could feel her face burning from blushing. "I'm sure Shepard is just trying to be friendly, that is all. I think you're all reading far too much into his intentions."

"They are," growled a voice from behind them all, the anger clear in the tone. Everyone turned around to see Shepard standing at the entrance to the mess. Arms folded across his chest. And a frown on his face. Taking time to glare at every single person at the table. Garrus was one of many to look down at the table, avoiding eye contact with the Commander.

_Oh shit, now we're in for it…_

"What did I say before about rumour and gossip? I distinctly remember telling you to stop gossiping like a bunch of schoolgirls. Do I need to remind you again?"

"We mean nothing by it, Commander," replied Alenko, who could barely look him in the eyes.

"Not that I have to justify or explain anything I do, to any of you, but since you mention things I have done for Tali, have I not doing other things for the rest of my crew? Do I not make sure you have the latest armour available, Alenko? Don't I make sure you have the latest weaponry at hand, Ashley? I have been on the Citadel to shop for Liara so she can also have food from her home-world, while I know Garrus is always on the look-out for a better sniper rifle."

"We mean nothing by it all, Commander," repeated Alenko, though rather quietly.

"As you've mentioned, I have bought Tali gifts. I bought her some new armour to ensure she is protected as possible. Surely you would all now be aware of the dangers she faces on the battlefield if she were to be hit and have a suit rupture? And as for the food, we've discussed her dietary requirements and I was merely making sure she had plenty of options available, much like we have with our own diets.

And think of how Tali must feel, being constantly bombarded by these sort of questions." Shepard walked across the room to stand in front of the table, staring down at everyone sat around it. "Let me make it clear for the final time. You WILL stop the continuous gossip about the Commander and his crew members, no matter who they are. If I hear any of this for a third time, there will be consequences. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir," replied everyone. Well, everyone but Wrex, who took no interest in any of the gossip happening. But he nodded all the same.

"Right, then I want all of you out of my sight. Except Tali. And not a word, a look, nothing from any of you as you walk out. I merely want a word with her before she returns to her own station."

The rest of the crew stood up and walked out of the mess quietly and quickly. Tali stayed seated until everyone had left. She looked up as Shepard took a seat across from her.

"I'm sorry, Tali."

That took her by surprise. Why was he apologising? "Whatever for, Shepard?"

"It seems like whenever I do something nice for you, it leads to situations like that. Maybe I should just stop being so generous to everyone…"

Tali blushed. "Well, I don't want you to, Shepard. Being nice… and giving me gifts and things… you know… I'm certainly not used to anyone being so generous."

Shepard chuckled. "Well, neither do I, Tali. Maybe I'll just have to be more discreet from now on." Shepard then sighed. "All I want to do is make sure your time with us is comfortable, Tali. I know you're missing home, after what you told me about your Pilgrimage. I understand that you would miss the connections with your own people and that you left family and friends behind. So I thought one or two things that remind you of your home would be nice."

Tali wasn't shocked to hear his explanation. She appreciated everything Shepard had done for her since her arrival on the _Normandy_. She couldn't help but grin as he explained his reasons. "Thank you, Shepard."

Shepard grinned slightly in reply. "You're welcome, Tali."

"I guess I should return to my station before tongues start wagging again…"

Shepard nodded. "Sure, no problem. As I said, Tali, if you find yourself getting hassle about anything, you let me know."

"I will, Shepard," replied Tali as she stood up, "I'll talk to you later."

Shepard just nodded before standing himself and walking back into his quarters.


	18. Chapter 17 - Saving the Colony

_A/N - Firstly, thanks to everyone who has either chosen to follow or favourite this story so far. I'm not really doing anything ground-breaking with this story or anything, it's merely my take on the story itself. Guess it's an adventure / drama / sort-of romance, with some action thrown in but mostly a character story (at least that's what I'm aiming for!). Quite simple really. In addition, a personal shout out to two reviewers, Rogen and Phil, who are leaving constant feedback. You both have my thanks for leaving a review for nearly every chapter and I'm glad you're enjoying it. Though I hope everyone else it too!_

_I'll be honest. I've found Noveria and Feros quite difficult to write from the point of doing something completely original. IMO it's because you always do these two missions with each game, while with the side quests, you can choose to do them or not - that's why I found chapters, such as that with Kahoku earlier, and quite a few chapters coming up, a joy to write because I could use the mission as the basis but add a lot more regarding my own ideas to them. Maybe it's just limitations of my imagination!_

_I think I at least managed to make Noveria interesting enough from the reviews I had, but I've found Feros even more difficult to write, to make it something interesting and original enough for people to enjoy. Like Noveria, I've written it in three parts._

* * *

"Feros is quiet, Commander," Joker informed Shepard, as he piloted the _Normandy_ on the approach to Feros, "I'm getting absolutely nothing on comms. Nothing but static. It's as if there is no-one there."

Shepard was slightly perplexed. "We know there's a colony there, Joker. And a company by the name of ExoGeni is also based there. They were the group behind the foundation of the colony. Are you sure you can't get anything?"

Joker nodded. "Absolutely sure, Commander. Feros is already considered a 'dead world' because of all the Prothean ruins. With no-one answering, it doesn't look any better now."

"Okay, Joker. Bring us in to dock and we'll go check it out. Who knows what we may find."

"Aye-aye."

Shepard turned around and walked back to the CIC. As usual, there was a flurry of activity as information was gathered so Shepard and his team were as informed as possible before they disembarked. Shepard approached his XO.

"What have you got, Pressly?"

Pressly looked up from his console, shaking his head slightly. "Not a lot, Commander. Just what you already know. The colony that has been founded is only a few years old at most. I can find plenty of starter information about ExoGeni, just the basics like usual, but after that a lot of it is classified. From what I could find, ExoGeni mostly deal in exploration and colonisation. Apparently they are responsible for a number of human colonies out in the Terminus Systems. No idea why they've chosen Feros though. It's a habitable world, but everyone is aware of the Prothean ruins that cover nearly the entire planet. I don't understand what ExoGeni see in establishing any sort of colony on this planet."

"Any more updates from Anderson or the Ambassador?"

Pressly gave a wry smile. "Not about ExoGeni. But apparently there has been a massive expose in regards to Binary Helix by a certain reporter named Emily Wong. From the messages Anderson has sent, the Council are quite unhappy that information regarding Binary Helix being released to the press. They know where the information came from, Commander, but don't really have any proof of how it was leaked."

Shepard would have laughed if the situation wasn't so serious. "Fuck 'em. I gave them a chance to do something about it. Serves them right. But I guess I'll no doubt get a stern telling off next time I have to contact them. But, anyway, that's not important at the moment. Anything else, Pressly?"

"No, Commander."

"Okay. Like usual, you hold the fort while I'm gone."

"Yes, Commander."

Shepard walked back towards the airlock where his chosen team was waiting to leave on mission. They were all checking their weapons or their armour, but all turned their attention to the Commander as he approached.

"Ready to go?"

Four people nodded their heads.

"Okay, here's the situation as it currently stands. Feros is quiet. We have no idea if anyone is alive out there or not. But what we do know is that there is likely more geth out there. We've had many reports of them on Feros, and after Noveria, it wouldn't surprise me if we ran into a host of them. Therefore, same tactics as usual. Tali, you're my go-to girl for tech attacks and decryption. Alenko, they're still susceptible to biotics, and your tech will come in handy as well. Garrus, two words: fire support. I want that sniper or assault rifle firing and taking out targets. Wrex… well, just be your usual self."

"Heh. Heh. No problem, Shepard," replied Wrex, an almost evil grin on his face.

"What are the chances of finding anyone alive, Commander?"

"Not sure, Alenko. There is a colony here that was established by a company called ExoGeni. But we can't get anything on comms, so I have no idea if there is anyone either left alive, or if they haven't already evacuated. However, after what happened with Binary Helix, I'm not prepared to write ExoGeni off as not being involved. But, we'll wait and see. So, ready?"

"Ready," answered the four in unison.

After the usual decontamination cycle as the five left the _Normandy_, they found themselves in a near deserted hangar. Shrugging his shoulders, Shepard led the group towards the exit until a human male stepped out of cover, stopping them as they approached. Shepard raised a hand to bring his team to a halt. The male didn't appear to be a threat so Shepard didn't even bother with a weapon.

"Are you to help about our problems with the geth?" asked the man.

The question didn't take Shepard by surprise. "Yes, my team is here to help. My name is Commander Shepard. The folk behind me are my crew. We've had reports of geth activity in the area, so have come to check it out and help where we can."

"Good," replied the man, "Please, go speak to Fai Dan. He's our leader and will want to see you as soon as possible."

Before Shepard could even thank the man, he exploded into a mess of body parts and blood after being hit by a rocket fired by a geth trooper that suddenly appeared nearby.

_Holy shit!_

"Geth!" shouted Tali as she leapt into cover. She immediately started keying her omni-tool, launching a tech burst at one of the Geth Troopers, as a crack from Garrus' sniper rifle left one of the geth with a massive hole in its chest, collapsing to the ground. Alenko was flinging biotic attacks at a pair of geth, lifting both of them from the ground, Wrex charging at both in tandem with his attacks, blasting his shotgun into one of them, leaving that non-functional, before grabbing the other geth, slamming it into the ground and blasting his shotgun into its optics. Shepard merely looked on in amusement as his team dismantled the opposition.

"Having fun, guys?" he joked. He heard Tali chuckle next to him, turning to her and flashing her a grin. Tali grinned back at him from behind her mask, Shepard watching her eyes light up.

_Good to see Shepard is back to his old self._

Tali stood up and followed Shepard through the network of walkways and stairs as they made their way into the colony. They ran into a couple of Geth Stalkers while ascending a flight of stairs, which did leave Shepard and Wrex with overheating weapons, but tech attacks from Tali and Garrus resulted in them being disabled. Shepard took out his own shotgun and left them both non-functional with a couple of blasts into their centre mass.

"Okay, can we all agree those things are very annoying," said Shepard, as he stashed his shotgun, shaking his head as he moved on.

"Shepard, the geth are definitely up to something. We've now seen them on Therum, Noveria and now here. These geth," stated Tali, gesturing to the two stalkers, "are almost organic in appearance, at least their bodies are, and how they move."

"Do you want to attempt to get a core from one of them, see what information you can get? Could be a good Pilgrimage gift?"

Tali grinned behind her mask.

_Shepard is thinking about that even now?_

"No, that won't be possible unless we are very lucky. They are no doubt already aware of our presence here so they'll be ready for us."

The group eventually exited into a wide area that appeared to be the heart of the colony. Tali noticed that there were defensive positions established. The colonists were watching them closely as Shepard and his crew walked through the encampment. Anyone Shepard attempted to converse with rebuffed him, simply telling him to speak to Fai Dan. The group walked through what Tali guessed was a ship, possibly a freighter, before exiting at the other end. It was there that they finally met the man named Fai Dan.

"I'm Commander Shepard. Are you Fai Dan?"

"Commander Shepard?" the human replied with some surprise, "I was hoping they would send someone to help us, but I didn't think they'd send the first human Spectre!"

"You know about that?" asked Shepard, surprise of his own spread across his face.

"Of course, Commander. Nearly every human in the galaxy is aware of the first human Spectre. We all saw the vids. It was a great day for humanity. You give us all hope, Commander."

Tali just observed, a smile underneath her mask.

_Maybe Shepard will now start to understand what he means to everyone._

"We're all glad you're here, Commander. We desperately need your help."

"Okay, Fai Dan, tell me what's wrong?"

"The list is innumerable, Commander. But, first, can you help eliminate the geth nearby? They are a major concern, and we just don't have the manpower to force them back. At most we have established a defensive perimeter, but I'm not sure how much longer we can hold on. We've already lost so many…"

"We can certainly get rid of them. Just point us in the right direction."

"They're up in that tower," advised Fai Dan, pointing to the structure behind him.

"No problem. We've got this. Gang, move out."

Tali unhooked her shotgun and followed Shepard as they slowly walked into the hallway. She could hear the clicks and whirs of geth nearby.

"Contacts! Weapons hot people!" ordered Shepard, as he unhooked his own gun. Tali found cover and keyed her omni-tool, launching a tech burst against one of the Geth Troopers, its weapon overheating, with Shepard firing a burst into its chest. Alenko was causing havoc with his biotic powers, numerous throws and lifts leaving most of the geth as easy pickings for her colleagues. Geth bodies soon littered the staircase as the group stepped over them, weapons at the ready for any more of the enemy.

The group walked up another staircase, where even more geth lay in wait. Further tech bursts from Tali and Garrus left more geth incapacitated, with Wrex enjoying himself charging into the fray, throwing around geth as if mere rag dolls, before unloading his shotgun into them. At the top of the stairs, they found two unarmed colonists stuck behind cover, under fire from a couple of Geth Troopers. Alenko joined them in cover, attempting to keep them calm as Shepard and Wrex charged in, disabling the geth with the butts of their shotguns and a blast to their core once they were on the ground.

"Alenko, get those colonists back to Fai Dan and safety," ordered Shepard, "We'll go on from here."

"Understood, Commander," replied Alenko. Ducking down, he ushered the two colonists away from the firefight and back down the stairs to safety.

Tali followed Shepard as they moved further up the tower. The four immediately ran into more geth as they rounded a corner, taking cover as bullets started flying once again. A geth dropship flew overhead, landing on the roof and dropping even more Geth Troopers, and also a Geth Juggernaut. The constant stream of geth started closing in on the group.

"Focus on the juggernaut!" ordered Shepard, as rockets started to crash into the cover around them. "Garrus, crack open that sniper rifle and get off a few shots. Take out its shields. Tali, you know what you need to do. Wrex, want to have a bit of fun? Focus on the rest of the geth while we take out the Juggernaut. If it does get too much, retreat back to us."

The krogan just grinned as he roared and charged off, focusing on the other geth, while the other three focused all their efforts on the Juggernaut. Due to its size, it couldn't use cover, but its rocket launcher was an annoyance for the three, rockets constantly flying over their heads, causing bits of stone and masonry to rain down on the three. Slowly but surely, the shields of the Juggernaut were whittled down, the constant tech attacks from Tali, and gunfire from Shepard and Garrus continuing to rock it backwards, leaving them with just enough breathing room to survive, though they all took hits from shrapnel themselves. A final crack from Garrus' sniper, and a tech burst from Tali, the Juggernaut finally started to shudder and smoke, and with a final burst of fire from Shepard, it fell to the ground. With that hulking beast out of the way, the rest of the geth were relatively simple for the team to mop up, Wrex already having taken out most of the opposition with his shotgun.

"Shepard! Look, the geth dropship is leaving!" shouted Tali across the room, pointing up at the roof.

"Good. Let's get back to Fai Dan and find out what the hell is going on around here."

* * *

Shepard was in a good mood as he took a seat on a wall on the edge of Zhu's Hope. With the work his team had completed, he figured that the colonists may just have a chance of surviving. Once they had eliminated the geth from the tower, Fai Dan had explained the desperate situation the colonists were facing. The company that was supposed to be looking after them, ExoGeni, had gone dark, ever since the geth had arrived. The colonists had no idea if anyone further on was alive. The only way Shepard and his team would find out was by moving on.

However, before that, Shepard and his team helped out with odd-jobs around the colony. It wasn't work he would generally even contemplate doing, but he wasn't going to leave the colonists to fend for themselves. The events of Eden Prime were still fresh in the mind. These people needed help, and Shepard and his team would provide whatever help they could. It was the right thing to do in his mind.

Tali observed and participated, with a constant smile on her face, as she watched Shepard organise and rally the colony to the cause. He helped set up new defensive perimeters, to make sure the colony was well defended in the event of a renewed attack from the geth. He offered the colony some weapons from the _Normandy_ that they no longer needed, as much of what the colony had was out-dated, and would be ineffective against geth in the long term. Over a couple of days, he and Williams gave the colonists limited combat training, so they would be more effective in their defence against any enemies they may meet.

While Shepard was busy with those jobs, Tali, Alenko and Garrus, with their engineering expertise, helped get the colony back to working order. Water and power was restored to the colony, allowing simple luxuries such as drinking water, or showers, to be enjoyed once more. Communication to the rest of the galaxy was slowly restored, as arrays were fixed and put back into working order. A transmitter was found during one of their searches of the tunnels, which required the entire team to knock out. The transmitter had been heavily defended by krogan warriors and geth stalkers, resulting in a fierce firefight in the cramped hallways. Shepard hoped that disabling the transmitter would further stop any further geth attacks on the colony. Any further geth found hiding in the tunnels were eliminated at the same time. Tali and Garrus also tried working on the freighter, that was used as a home by the colonists, to see if it could be flown once more, but the engines were completely dead, and even Tali, with all the engineering will in the world, could do little to get them working again.

"You've done a good thing, Shepard," said Tali, as she took a seat next to him, looking out over the colony from the elevated area on which they sat, her eyes lighting up behind her mask as she gave him a smile that she always wished he could see.

Shepard shook his head slightly, before replying with a small grin of his own in reply. "You mean 'we', Tali. We've all pitched in to help. You, alone, or with Garrus, have done a lot of work to get this colony back on its feet. With everything we've done, maybe, just maybe, the people of Zhu's Hope stand a chance of surviving. What they really need is in the name. I just hope we've given it to them."

"Have you spoken to them about the possibility of evacuating the colony somewhere else?"

"I've spoken to Fai Dan and a couple of the others. They don't want to leave. And I don't blame them. This is their home, no matter what we might think of the place. They want to stay and continue to make a go of it. I can't force them to go. But I will try and help them, however I can."

"So what do we do now, Shepard?"

"We find out what the hell is going on further up. The geth are here for some reason. We really need to find out why. And, while we're at it, we may need to find out what ExoGeni were up to. After everything that happened on Noveria, and Binary Helix, I don't believe any of them are the benevolent corporations they claim to be. But, I won't judge them yet. We'll wait and see. But, you know me and my gut instinct, Tali. It's telling me something isn't quite right."

"What do you think we'll find, apart from more geth?"

"I don't know. I truly hope we don't find anything. I don't want to deal with another situation such as that on Noveria."

Shepard stood up, offering his hand to Tali and helping her up at the same time. They stood together in silence for a moment, Shepard still holding her hand, looking at Tali with a slight grin.

_Why do I always feel so awkward around her?_

"Come on, we'd better get going."

Shepard gathered his team around the centre of the colony once again, and with final instructions, and the key for the elevator from Fai Dan, the team departed the colony.

* * *

"Hey! A Mako! Awesome! At least now we don't have to walk."

Four others groaned. Shepard turned around. "What?"

"Nothing, Shepard," came four replies.

"No, something is going on here. You are all obviously thinking the same thing. Come on, tell me, why the groans?"

No-one said anything as the four others looked at each other, shifting uncomfortably in their places. A couple of cleared throats. Then Tali stepped forward. "Shepard, we all think you're..." Tali stopped, wringing her hands.

"Yes, Tali?" asked Shepard, with a smirk.

"You're driving is a little bit... crazy."

Shepard burst out laughing. The four others just stared at him, uncomprehending why he was laughing.

"Shepard, why are you laughing?"

"Of course I may seem crazy driving one of these things! You try handling one of these beasts. They are an absolute pain in the ass to try and control! And I've had years of training in handling one of these things. It isn't easy, let me tell you. And, yes, I know I take a lot of chances. Plenty of risks. And my driving isn't the best. But, answer me this, are you all still alive?"

Four people shrugged their shoulders, but nodded their heads.

"And do I keep you safe at all times?"

The same response.

"Then why on earth are you complaining?" he finally asked with a chuckle.

"Shepard, you traversing all those mountains is worse than a rollercoaster at a theme park! I swear, sometimes I feel on the verge of throwing up!" exclaimed Alenko.

"What the hell is a theme park?" asked Garrus.

"Or a rollercoaster?" added Wrex.

"Oh, never mind," stated Alenko as he started chuckling himself.

"Right, now that you've got that off your chest, am I now free to drive the Mako to our next destination?"

"Yes, Shepard," came four replies.

Shepard just grinned. "Right, usual places, Tali up front next to me, Garrus on the gun, Wrex and Alenko in the back. And... I'll try and be smooth and comfortable, just for you guys."

That just led to more laughter as they boarded the Mako. Shepard started the engine, and once everyone was ready, he floored it out the garage door. The view outside the front window was spectacular as Shepard steered the Mako along the skyway. He had no idea how high they were, but the towers, built by the Protheans 50,000 years before, still stood in the distance. Otherwise, Shepard could only see cloud. He was left wondering what had been left at ground level.

_Guess it'll be a long way down if I fuck this up._

"Geth dropship, Shepard!" shouted Tali, a mixture of excitement and nervousness in her tone. Shepard peered out the front of the Mako while he heard Garrus fire the cannon at the dropship, though it had no effect. He saw the ship drop two packages.

Armatures.

In addition to these, there were already geth soldiers, a mixture of rocket troopers and destroyers, that were already dug in and starting to fire at the Mako. Rockets started to fly towards the Mako, Shepard flinging the Mako all over the road while also using the thrusters to try and avoid most of them. He heard the occasional complaint from behind while Garrus kept up the rate of machine gun and cannon fire.

"Garrus, focus on the soldiers then do what you can regarding the armatures. Tali, keep those shields charged. I have an idea," ordered Shepard.

"What idea is that, Shepard?" asked Tali.

"I'm going to knock those armature bastards over the edge," replied Shepard, flooring the accelerator.

"But there are two of them!"

"I know. I know."

The machine gun continued to fire as Garrus laid waste to the geth troopers, the rockets they were firing missing as Shepard used the thrusters to leap over the rockets as he closed in the first of the armatures. Both fired at the Mako, Shepard slamming on the brakes and managing to leap over one of the pulses, the second pulse hitting the Mako as it landed back on the ground.

"Shields at 80%."

Shepard responding by jamming the accelerator down even harder, steering straight at one of the armatures. With a crash, the Mako slammed into the armature, which lost its footing and slid backwards along the road. But not quite off the edge.

"You're not getting off that easy, sonny-jim," shouted Shepard, as he floored the accelerator again, smashing into the armature, then braking suddenly as he watched the armature topple over the edge. At the same time, Garrus had been busy firing at the other armature and reported that had blown up as well.

"Shields are at 67%, Shepard."

"Any more contacts, Garrus?"

"None for the moment, Shepard. Those geth bastards didn't stand a chance."

Shepard chuckled as he turned the Mako and slowly steered the Mako back along the skyway.

"Shepard, I'm getting chatter on the radio. I think there may be survivors in the building ahead," reported Tali.

Shepard nodded. "Suppose we should go check it out then."

With the geth eliminated, the rest of the drive to the next building was smooth and comfortable, Shepard and Tali idly chatting away in the front, almost forgetting the other three were in the vehicle. Once the Mako had entered the building, the group exited and noticed survivors were situated in an anteroom. Waving them over, Shepard and his group walked down the path towards the survivors. They appeared fairly well-organised, with a number of guards well-armed and with a decent standard of armour. Shepard was busy taking in his surroundings when one a relatively well-dressed male stopped him, a pistol in his hand.

"Who are you?" the man demanded, "What do you want?"

"I'm Commander Shepard. Council Spectre or Alliance Navy. Take your pick. Either way, I could ask you the same question."

A woman walked over. "Don't mind him, Commander, he only cares about the company. We're delighted to finally see someone alive. We've been stuck here ever since the geth arrived. But what's a Spectre doing on Feros?"

"We're here to find out what the hell is going on. But are you not aware that the colonists in Zhu's Hope are alive?"

"They're alive? That's fantastic! Jeong, you said they were all dead?"

"I said they were probably dead, Juliana. How was I to know they'd survive a geth attack?" answered Jeong.

Shepard saw red, walking over towards Jeong and grabbing him by the collar. "And did you not think to send someone to check?"

"We don't have the resources to launch a rescue mission. We're barely surviving here ourselves!"

Shepard let Jeong go. He could see his point. Barely, but these survivors were not soldiers. It was unlikely they'd have made it through the walkway with the geth resistance they had run into themselves.

Shepard turned to the woman. "Juliana, as I said, we're here to help. But we need to take out the geth. If you can point us in the right direction, we can take them out and help get the colony back on its feet."

"Sure, Commander. The geth are at ExoGeni headquarters, just a bit further up the walkway."

"Those headquarters are private property," interrupted Jeong, "Just focus on the geth."

Shepard closed on Jeong again, staring into his eyes. "Now you're pissing me off, Jeong. If I find something interesting, I may just have to take a look."

"Commander, one more thing. My daughter, Lizbeth. She's missing…"

"She's probably dead."

Shepard lost it, turning and slamming a fist into Jeong's solar plexus, leaving the man in a crumpled heap on the ground, struggling for breath. "One more word, Jeong, and it's a bullet next time. I'll ask politely, but please, shut the fuck up."

Shepard turned back to the woman, giving her a grin. "As you were saying, Juliana?"

The woman looked slightly shocked, though had a hint of a grin on her own face. "As I was saying, Commander, my daughter is missing. She worked at the ExoGeni building when the geth arrived. I know it's a long shot, but I know in my heart that she's still alive. Please, can you keep an eye out for her?"

"Sure thing, Juliana. Happy to help. Just say here until I get back. And, er, get him some help I guess," as Shepard pointed at Jeong, still lying on the ground.

Shepard moved out and his crew followed him out. Tali was walking beside him.

"Did you have to hit him?" asked Tali. Shepard could hear the chuckle, so knew she understood why.

"One word, Tali. Asshole. He should be glad I only punched him."

He could hear laughter coming from the rest of the group. "Suppose we should call this a rescue mission now. We're doing good work here team."

The next skyway was a repeat of the first. Garrus spent much of his time lighting up the geth with the machine gun, while Shepard continued to make a game of knocking geth off the skyway, including an armature, with shouts of 'Score!' every time he managed to knock one off. Tali just looked him with an utterly bemused look behind her mask, but couldn't help chuckling. After dealing with the geth, the Mako made it to the ExoGeni building, where the team had to disembark.

"Shepard, why do you think the geth want with ExoGeni?" asked Garrus, once the last remaining geth had been dealt with and the group were standing around as a group, looking for a way to proceed.

"I'm not sure, Garrus. That's what we're here to find out."

* * *

_A/N - Final note: I'll probably upload all three Feros chapters relatively quickly considering they're already written._


	19. Chapter 18 - The Experiment

_A/N - As I said, I'm uploading Feros quite quickly so I can move the story on to my own more personal stuff. I have a feeling I could probably have done Feros in two larger chapters, as this one just feels like a filler between the previous chapter, and the next one, but I had planned for three so kept it at that. And I'd spent a long time writing this so kept it in (otherwise I would have felt it was a few hours / days wasted.) As usual, though, I've made my little changes in the story without affecting the canon too much, like usual. _

* * *

"Okay team, keep your eyes open. No doubt there are geth all over the place. Tali, same story as Noveria. Grab whatever information you can find on consoles. Jeong is an asshole, and no doubt there is something going on here. He was a shifty bugger with something to hide. I have little doubt ExoGeni have been up to some serious shit here and I want to know what."

"Sure thing, Shepard."

The group walked up a ramp and towards what appeared to be a barrier.

"Any chance of bringing this down?" asked Shepard to his group.

"No chance, Commander. That looks impregnable," answered Alenko, "Don't try and shoot it, Wrex. It won't work."

"Well where is the fun in that, Alenko!"

"Guess it's the long way round then," stated Shepard.

Shepard walked back where there appeared to be another entrance. Leaping down, he realised that it would be impossible to climb back up. Simply shrugging his shoulders, he indicated his team should follow, and on the group walked. The building was a mess, the geth had certainly torn it to shreds in their take-over. The group were walking into an underpass, what appeared to be a parking garage. Shepard noticed a number of dead varren scattered around, but he was taken by surprise when a bullet impacted against his shields.

Drawing his pistol, he looked up to see an armed woman walking towards him, looking incredibly apologetic. Realising she wasn't an enemy, Shepard immediately re-holstered his pistol, gesturing to his squad to remain at ease.

"Sorry about that. I've just been so worried about geth or varren that you took me by surprise. Who are you?"

"No harm, no foul. I'm Commander Shepard. This is my crew," replied Shepard, gesturing to his team, "Are you Lizbeth?"

"I am. How did you know?"

"We ran into some survivors in a couple places. Your mother has been worried about you."

"She's still alive?" Shepard nodded. "Oh, thank God! I'm such a fool. I should have escaped with everyone else, but I decided to stay and back up the data. But I stayed too long and I've been hiding ever since."

"What's with the barrier? It stopped us getting inside. What are the geth after?"

Lizbeth looked unsure for a second, as if deep in thought.

"Come on, Lizbeth. We need to know what's going on here. The geth are obviously after something. We need to know."

Lizbeth sighed. "They're probably here for the Thorian."

"Thorian? What the hell is a Thorian?" asked Garrus.

"It's an indigenous life-form on the planet. ExoGeni were studying it."

"Uh-huh," answered Shepard, sceptical tone in his voice that everyone but Lizbeth noticed, "Studying it… Right… Well, anyway, what can you tell me about this Thorian?"

"Not a lot at the moment. It would be best if the geth were cleared out first. Then you can get the information you require. But, first, you need to take down that barrier. It blocks any other entrances or exists, and definitely our way out of this building. I believe it's likely the geth ship is powering it, as the geth have been laying power cables all over the building."

"Looks like we have a geth ship to take out!" stated Tali, rather excitably.

Shepard turned and grinned, before returning attention to Lizbeth. "Okay, stay here, or at least out of sight, Lizbeth. We'll go take out the geth then come back for you."

"Yes, Commander. And, please, take my ID card. That should help you progress through the building."

Lizbeth turned and walked away back to her original hiding spot, as Shepard signalled to his team to move out deeper into the facility. A handful of varren were more of annoyance than any danger, merely slowing their progress into the building. Carefully the group entered and walked up a stairway, where Shepard could hear a voice bellowing in the distance. Putting a finger to his lips to indicate silence, the group moved silently along the wall, towards the voice. Shepard turned a corner, and noticed a krogan speaking to a VI machine, and getting rather frustrated by it.

Shepard turned to his group. "So, Wrex, want to have a little fun?" he whispered.

Wrex just grinned back at Shepard. He unhooked his shotgun from his back, and surprisingly for a krogan, made absolutely no noise, as he moved slowly in a crouch position, until he was behind the krogan. He stood up and lifted his shotgun at the krogan's head.

"Hey pyjak!" bellowed Wrex, as he pulled the trigger, just as the krogan turned around. Most of the team looked away as the other krogan slumped to the ground, missing his face.

"Okay, let's see what this VI can tell us," stated Shepard as he stood up and walked towards Wrex, who was busy stowing his shotgun, slightly chuckling to himself. Shepard gave the krogan a slap on the back, for another job well done, before approaching the VI machine.

"Welcome back, Research Assistant Elizabeth Baynham. What can I do for you?" asked the VI.

Shepard looked down the ID card he had attached to his uniform.

_Oh, I guess that's why…_

"VI, what did that krogan want?"

"Fetching data. The previous user wanted to access information regarding Subject Species 37, the Thorian."

"What data is there?"

"There has been no new data regarding the Thorian for a number of days. All sensors monitoring the observation post at Zhu's Hope have been rendered inactive."

"Zhu's Hope?" asked Alenko, "Commander, why would there be observation posts at the colony?"

"Good question, Alenko," muttered Shepard darkly, "VI, what does the Thorian have to do with Zhu's Hope?"

"Species 37 is located in the depths below Zhu's Hope colony."

"Bastards!" exclaimed Garrus, "That is what Saren is after! Shepard, you noticed the colonists were behaving strangely, right? The Thorian has to be linked."

"Agreed, Garrus. VI, tell me everything you can about the Thorian."

"The Thorian appears to be a simple plant life-form that displays surprising sentient behaviour. Through dispersion and inhalation of its spores, the Thorian is able to infect and control any local organisms, including humans. 85% of Zhu's Hope colonists have displayed signs of infection before sensors went offline."

"Shepard," started Tali, "It sounds like ExoGeni are purposely infecting Zhu's Hope colonists."

"It was deemed necessary to assess the potential of the Thorian," stated the VI.

"Bastards," said Shepard under his breath. He turned to his group. "Right, first we need to get rid of these geth, then we go have a chat with our friend Jeong. And I believe Lizbeth may also know more than she's letting on. Tali, as I said before, see what you can get off these consoles. Someone is going to answer for this."

"I've seen some things in my time, Commander, but I never thought anyone, even a corporation, could stoop to this," stated Alenko, shaking his head sadly.

The other four all nodded their heads in agreement, before Shepard gave a hand signal to the team to move out. It was a case of more hallways and stairs as the team moved further into the building, Shepard surprised by the lack of resistance so far. Rising a set of stairs, Tali noticed power cables in the distance and suggested to Shepard they must be close to something. Coming out onto a ledge, Shepard peered over to see two geth bowing before some sort of glowing white orb.

"Tali, any idea what they're doing?" he whispered.

"None whatsoever, Shepard. Apart from we've been told about the Reapers, the geth don't revere any Gods."

Shepard and Garrus pulled out their sniper rifles, and the two geth were quickly eliminated. The group jumped down from the ledge and were soon stood observing the structures around the room. Each appeared to be attached to a power cable. Tali suggested the ship was anchored to the side of the building, as the structures looked like claws, keeping the ship attached, but Tali also suggested the team would require going further in the building to actually detach the ship from the side. Considering the team lacked any sort of explosives, Shepard could only agree with that assessment. Whatever the case, Shepard and Tali both found themselves wondering about the orb, and why the geth appeared to be praying.

The team moved further on into the building, now walking past bodies, mostly human, no doubt ExoGeni staff who failed to escape the building in time. More geth resistance, and another barrier, were met en route, while Tali found another console to gather more information on ExoGeni. Shepard was now amazed that the entire structure was still standing, keeping in mind the geth ship attached to the side, the level of destruction that had taken place within and the fact that the building must be at least 50,000 years old.

The team moved through room after room, running into occasional geth resistance, which was dealt with relatively quickly, tech attacks from Garrus, Tali and Alenko leaving the geth as easy pickings for Shepard and Wrex to wipe out with sustained assault rifle and shotgun fire. More stairs were climbed, Shepard now completely confused as to what level they were on, or whether the group was simply going around in circles, but as they walked along another hallway, they came out into a large room. In the middle of the room was another claw, like the one they had seen earlier.

And also more geth.

"Take cover!" yelled Shepard, diving to his left behind a concrete slab, as he heard the rest of his entourage get into cover behind him, bullets ricocheting off the slab in front of him, or digging into the wall behind him. He took a quick peek to see at least four Geth Troopers busy firing at his squad. He looked across to Tali and Alenko, indicating them to start launching their tech attacks. Both starting keying their omni-tools, and soon sparks starting firing off the geth, weapons appearing to overheat. Another geth started firing at his own squad.

_Good stuff, Tali!_

Shepard kneeled behind the slab and starting picking off geth with his sniper rifle, taking a moment to check across to see Garrus both doing the same thing. Wrex was also busy firing his shotgun, though not particularly doing much damage, but his nuisance value was high as the geth spent much of their time focusing their fire in his direction. Soon the geth resistance faltered, and the room was once again silent. Shepard stood up out of cover and walked towards the geth machinery and consoles.

"Tali, check these consoles for me and see what you can find out, particularly what the geth are up to, but anything about ExoGeni will also be useful," requested Shepard, pointing to one in particular. Tali walked over and started hacking into the console. With a few seconds, she was in.

"Shepard, come and read this," she said quietly. Shepard walked across and started reading the screen, titled 'Confidential'.

"Nodacrux colony. Anyone ever heard of that?" he asked, turning back to his squad. No-one seemed to know, everyone shook their head. "Hmmm, Tali, get that information. We'll see where it may lead."

With a flick of his hand, Shepard indicated to his team to move out. The group walked up a set of stairs onto a walkway, right past the ships claw.

"Commander, we don't have any explosives. We'll have to find another way to dismantle the claw," stated Alenko. Shepard just nodded in agreement as he continued to walk, before diving suddenly as a rocket fired not far over his head.

"Get down!" he roared, "Destroyer! Wrex, get down here quick!"

In cover on the stairwell, Shepard started popping up and giving short bursts towards the geth, with Garrus, Tali and Alenko behind him, further up the stairs. Once again, Tali and Alenko were launching tech attacks while Garrus had his sniper rifle out, already picking out and eliminating targets. There was a large number of geth, Shepard mostly just concerned about the Geth Destroyer, continuing to rain rockets around his team, shredding masonry off the walls as it never found a target.

Wrex was busy battering a Geth Trooper with his shotgun. Once he'd finished that job, he turned and charged at the Geth Destroyer. Before it could get another rocket off, Wrex collided with it, forcing the Destroyer to stumble back. Shepard moved forward into different cover, keeping up his rate of fire at the Destroyer himself. He could feel his shields starting to falter slightly as other geth started focusing on him.

"Guys, focus on these other geth. Wrex and I are on the Destroyer," yelled Shepard to his team behind him. Next thing he knew, he could hear clicks and whirs from geth nearby as weapons overheated or platforms were sabotages, the crack of a sniper rifle from Garrus soon following afterwards. Shepard, shields slowly recharging, stood slightly and unleashed volley after volley of bullets at the Destroyer, with Wrex, now with shotgun in hand, blasting away himself. With a final burst of assault rifle fire, the Destroyer finally collapsed to the ground. All resistance was eliminated. Shepard stood and took a deep breath as his team joined him.

"Right, let's see how we can get that claw detached. Tali and Alenko, you'll be best suited to that. Have a look around, see what you can find."

Tali and Alenko walked off to start checking various consoles, while Shepard took a seat on a slab, removing his helmet and wiping the sweat from his forehead. Garrus took a seat beside him, the two idly chatting as Tali and Alenko worked at various consoles.

"Shepard!" called Tali, "I've found something. Come here, quick."

Shepard stood and walked across to Tali. "What is it, Tali?"

"Cerberus," she said quietly.

Shepard's mood instantly darkened. "Those assholes again? What is it now?" Shepard read the private log, mentioning Cerberus by name, which he found surprising, and also the delivery of samples to the Matano system.

_Bet that is where that Nodacrux colony is!_

"Good work, Tali," stated Shepard.

Tali just gave a polite nod as she moved on to another console.

"Commander, I think I've found it," said Alenko.

"Okay, Alenko. Get cracking then."

Alenko started working on a console. Shepard wasn't sure what he was doing, but he appeared to be working with pressure valves. Shepard wasn't entirely sure what the outcome would be.

"Got it!" Alenko exclaimed, as all five turned to see a door slam shut, snapping the claw in half. The building started to shake, the ship starting to creak and groan as it started to detach from the building. The team could heard the crunching as other claws they had seen dotted around the building also started to detach themselves from the building. With a final crash, the ship appeared to be detach itself completely, and no-one heard the final crunch when the ship hit the ground, far below them.

The five were giving themselves hearty congratulations, handshakes and high-fives, when Shepard's earpiece suddenly burst into life.

"Commander! Are you there? Commander!" asked a clearly worried Joker

Shepard made an indication to his squad for silence. "Joker? What is it?"

"Commander? Finally! Sir, the colonists have gone crazy. We're all holed up in the Normandy right now. We don't know what's going on, but whatever you've done there, something has them riled up."

"Okay, Joker. Just stay put. And, whatever you do, leave the colonists be. There are things going on here that you need to be aware of, but as I say, just keep to the ship and you'll be fine."

"If you say so, Commander. Also, keep in mind, there are plenty of geth still around. They appear to be heading your way."

"Thanks, Joker. Keep in contact. We're heading back now."

"Aye, sir."

* * *

Shepard was staring at Lizbeth in silence. He was happy to see that she had at least survived, but he didn't appreciate being lied to.

"Lizbeth, you're going to have to level with me here. I know all about the Thorian. You clearly know more than what you told me earlier."

Lizbeth sighed and looked rather upset. "You don't understand, Commander. I never wanted the tests. They were innocent people. I tried to get them to stop but… They threatened me. Threatened my mother. Threatened that we'd end up just like them if we continued to interfere."

"You mean ExoGeni?"

"Yes. That's why I had stayed behind. It was about the data, but I was trying to send it to Colonial Affairs. Someone must be made aware of what they are doing here! But, the geth arrived and cut the power before I could complete the message. I'm… I'm sorry."

Shepard moved towards Lizbeth, laying a hand on her shoulder. "I believe you, Lizbeth," he said quietly, trying to give her a modicum of comfort, "And we have all the data here. We'll do something."

Lizbeth gave a small smile. "Thank you, Commander."

"Now, this is very important, Lizbeth. Where is the Thorian?"

"Right below Zhu's Hope."

"You've got to be kidding!" exclaimed Garrus.

"Actually, that makes a lot of sense, explains why the colonists were acting funny," added Alenko.

"The entrance is currently blocked, though," added Lizbeth, "There is a freighter there that you will need to move."

"That's why I couldn't get the thing started!" stated Tali.

"Lizbeth, can you think of any reason why the geth are interested in the Thorian?"

"ExoGeni were interested in its mind-control capabilities. I can only assume that is why the geth would also be interested."

"Shepard," started Tali, "The geth wouldn't have any interest in mind-control…"

It all clicked into place for Shepard. "But Saren might! That's it! That's why the geth are here. Lizbeth, come with us, you may be able to help us. The rest of you, move out. We're going to have a nice little chat with Mr. Jeong."

The trip back in the Mako was just as fraught with danger as the original ride over. Shepard didn't waste too much time eliminating the geth opposition, with any Geth Armatures simply rammed off the skyway, while Garrus made short work of any geth troops. Once Shepard had the Mako back in cover, they started picking up radio messages from Juliana. Something was terribly wrong, Shepard urging on the Mako, jamming the accelerator to the floor.

Lizbeth leapt out of the Mako as soon as Shepard brought to a halt, Shepard falling in behind her, pistol already in his hand. He didn't want to this to get messy, but after reading and hearing everything ExoGeni had been up to, he was not in a good mood. Indicating to his team to follow quietly, Shepard crept his way along the walkway towards cover, where he could see Jeong and Juliana in some form of argument. Shepard was waiting to see how it played out, when one of the guards grabbed Juliana. Shepard was up in an instant, weapon pointed at Jeong. He heard at least four other bodies behind him, the click and clack of weapons behind un-holstered at levelled at various people in front of them.

"I would suggest you let go of Juliana," ordered Shepard.

Jeong was stunned for a moment, while Juliana broke hold of the guard and ran towards and past Shepard. He took a quick look to see mother and daughter embrace each other, a slight smile spreading across his face, before he wiped it from his features and turned back to Jeong, continuing to point his weapon at him.

"Just what the fuck do you think you're doing, Jeong?"

"And here I was hoping the geth would take care of you."

"Too bad, asshole. Now, I suggest you let these good people go and back off. Now."

"You don't understand, Commander. ExoGeni want this place purged."

"Purged?"

"It means they want to re-purpose us. Disband the colony," explained Juliana.

"All you give a shit about it the Thorian, Jeong. Don't give me bullshit about purges and colonists."

"You know about this, Jeong?" asked Juliana.

Jeong could only shrug his shoulders. The fight was starting to seep from him.

"This ends now, Jeong. I'm going to explain very carefully what is going to happen. I'm going to keep all the information I've gathered during my time…"

"You have no right!"

Shepard fired his pistol above Jeong's head. "Interrupt me again, and the next one goes in your head. Understand?"

Jeong looked at Shepard, wide-eyed in fear, but eventually nodded his head.

"As I was saying, I'm going to keep this information for safekeeping. What you've done here is absolutely appalling. Inhumane. I thought what I'd seen on Noveria was bad. These are human beings, Jeong! These are people you were meant to providing for. To be protecting. And you do this to them? You should be glad I don't put a bullet in your head for this.

So, what I'm going to do is go help these colonists. Then I'm going to see about this Thorian creature. Once I'm done with all that, I'm going to continue to hold onto all this information. What you are going to do for me, Jeong, is help these colonists once I'm gone. ExoGeni are going to do everything they can to ensure the colonists recover and are given every opportunity at making a decent life for themselves.

The question is, Jeong, do you help them out willingly, and I simply keep this information for safe-keeping, or am I going to have to release this information to the press and simply take all you bastards down? I'm already in the process of taking down Binary Helix. Taking down ExoGeni will simply be another feather in the cap. However, I'm not entirely sure the colony can survive without ExoGeni help. No matter how much that help disgusts me.

I'm going to leave you to think about that. Lizbeth, Juliana, gather all your belongings and take all the survivors here and meet us back at Zhu's Hope. Give us time to clear the geth resistance, though. Just follow the trail of geth bodies on the skyway back to the colony."

Juliana spoke up just as they were about to depart. "Commander, before you go. The colonists are obviously not in the right frame of mind." She walked away and brought back some canisters, handing them to Shepard and his team. "This is a type of nerve gas you can use to knock out the colonists. Don't worry, it's completely harmless. It's been… tested before."

Shepard gave a quizzical look but eventually nodded his head. "Are you sure it's safe?"

"Yes, Commander. Please, use the gas, or find some other way to knock them out. Just don't kill them. Please."

"Juliana, I'm not going to kill a bunch of innocent civilians. That I can promise you." Shepard turned to his team. "Everyone back to the Mako. We have a colony to save. Again."


	20. Chapter 19 - The Old Growth

_A/N - As I said, I was going to upload Feros quickly!_

_Couple of things you may have noticed: Changed the story title slightly, so anyone who read my first story may find this one. Second, changed the synopsis. I'm hopeless at writing them but thought of something slightly better than what I already had._

* * *

Apart from the occasional cannon-fire as Garrus dealt with the sporadic geth defences on the way back to Zhu's Hope, the inside of the Mako was one of complete silence. No-one uttered a word. Shepard was utterly furious with everything that they had discovered, while even the normal level-headed, unflappable Alenko was echoing the Commander's emotions in the rear of the vehicle. Tali was busy keeping an eye on Shepard as he drove the Mako onwards, but was otherwise lost with her own thoughts. Wrex was, like usual, the only one who appeared completely unaffected by everything.

As the Mako approached the garage door leading back into Zhu's Hope, the door didn't raise automatically as usual. Shepard brought the vehicle to a halt and ordered his team out and gathered them around.

"Before we go in, I want to establish one ground rule. I don't want any civilians hurt. I'll use the gas canisters and hopefully that will take care of those affected. However, if for whatever reason it doesn't work, or we run out of canisters, you are not to use lethal force. I only want to see pistols equipped and the use of non-lethal force if they have to be used. Does everyone understand?"

The rest of his squad nodded.

"Tali, see if you can get this door open," he asked. Tali nodded and walked over to a nearby console, bringing up her omni-tool to begin hacking. It took only a matter of moments for her to announce that she was finished and the door slowly started to raise.

Shots were immediately fired in their direction, as the indoctrinated colonists fired the same weapons at the team that Shepard had handed over only a day or so before. Shepard pulled out one of the canisters, pulled the pin and threw it in their direction, as the other four in his squad returned fire, though making sure to fire over their heads to ensure they were not wounded. Soon the canister started to release the gas and the colonists collapsed to the ground. The five were so pre-occupied with sorting out the colonists they failed to notice what else was on the ground.

"Commander, what are those things?" asked Alenko, pointing towards the lumps spread across the floor of the garage.

"No idea, Alenko. Anyone have any ideas?"

The other three in the team shook their heads. Shepard cautiously approached whatever it was, pistol out in front, ready for anything. Soon there were groans and growls as the lumps of earth started to stand, Shepard almost shouting out in surprise before taking a few steps back, and at least half a dozen creatures were soon up in front of Shepard and his team.

And walking towards them.

Shepard gave the order to fire and five pistols were soon being unloaded into the creatures. But whatever these creatures were, they were tough to take down as none of them fell under fire.

"Switch to shotguns!" ordered Shepard. He retrieved his own shotgun, taking a step towards one of the creatures, blasting away with his shotgun, the creeper finally falling to the ground. His team moved in around him, shotgun blasts echoing around the garage as the creepers were slowly taken out, one or two getting close enough to spray some sort of toxin towards them, though none of his team were hit. But it was something to be mindful of.

"Right, keep your shotguns out as I have no doubt we're going to meet more of these. New rule regarding the colonists. Do not fire at them. If necessary, use the butt of the shotgun to knock them out. Understood?"

"What about our shields?" asked Alenko "They may take quite a few hits if we're too far away."

"Do what you can, Alenko, but I don't want any colonists hurt. Just remember, it isn't their fault."

Alenko just nodded in agreement. "Of course, Commander."

"Okay, move out."

The team exited the garage and took the elevator back down towards the colony. Stepping out of the elevator, they immediately came under fire from a pair of colonists holed up behind cover. From cover of his own, Shepard pulled the pin on another canister and hurled it towards the colonists, the fire from them soon withering as they were knocked out by the toxin.

More creepers soon encroached on their position, shotguns once again blasting away. Wrex was out front in the middle of the melee, like usual, and soon found himself covered in toxin.

"You okay, Wrex?" yelled Shepard above the sounds of shotgun blasts.

"Yeah, fine, Shepard. Stuff burns like hell though!"

"Fall back if it gets too much, Wrex. No doubt we're going to see even more of these later."

"Sure thing, Shepard," answered the krogan, blasting away at another creeper.

Slowly but surely the five worked their way down the staircases back towards the heart of the colony. Shepard was left thinking that the geth were far easier to deal with than these creatures, who despite lacking any sort of shields, were right bastards to take down. Soon enough, though, the group were finally at the bottom of the stairway and in the hallway leading towards the colony. Ahead Shepard could see colonists behind a set of barricades, the same that he and Ashley had helped set up.

"Alenko. Thrown a canister. I'll fire my pistol over their heads to keep them down."

Alenko moved into cover in the doorway across from Shepard, the Commander firing his pistol above their heads, the colonists ducking down while Alenko threw a canister. It landed perfectly and soon the toxin had the colonists on the ground unconscious. Shepard gestured to his team to follow, and the group moved into the colony. More creepers were dealt with, while canisters were flung left and right towards the indoctrinated colonists. Soon the bodies of unconscious colonists littered the ground as the toxin started to spread across the entire colony, leaving a green haze in the air. But, still, one or two had to be taken out by shotgun butts as the number of canisters ran out. It was a hard slog for Shepard and his crew, each of his team started to feel the strain, but soon the last canister was thrown, the last colonist knocked out and the last creeper blow to smithereens. Shepard ordered a halt and the five gathered in the middle of the colony. Shepard was ready to contact Joker when movement to the teams' right had five pistols pointed.

It was Fai Dan. He looked like he was in incredible pain. Fighting hard against whatever was in control of him. His movements were jerky, almost as if he wasn't even fully in control of his own body.

"Fai Dan?" asked Shepard.

"I tried to fight it, but it gets in your head. You can't imagine the pain…"

"Alenko…," whispered Shepard, signalling what he wanted with his eyes. Alenko gave the briefest of nods and moved away.

"I'm supposed to be their leader," continued Fai Dan, "These people trust me," as he reached for the pistol at his hip.

"Fight it, Fai Dan! You don't have to do this!"

"It wants me to stop you!"

"You don't have to. We can end it for you. We know what's been going on. We can help."

"It wants me to stop you… But… I… won't…"

Fai Dan moved the gun upwards towards his head.

"Alenko!" shouted Shepard.

Alenko ran in quickly from behind Fair Dan, grabbing the hand in which he held his gun, twisting it behind his back. Fai Dan gasped in pain as Alenko twisted the pistol out of his hand, throwing it to the side, while maintaining hold of his wrists.

"Let me go! I have to do it! I have to do it," demanded Fai Dan as he continued to struggle, "It won't let me go. It'll never let us go. I have to do it. I have to kill myself. I've got to save them. Save you."

Shepard approached Fai Dan. "I'm sorry to have to do this, Fai Dan, but the thorian will only maintain control of you until we're done." Shepard then clocked Fai Dan across his jaw with his right fist, knocking out the human, as he slumped backwards into Alenko. He dragged Fai Dan back towards where the rest of the team had been gathering the unconscious colonists.

Shepard put his hand towards his ear. "Joker, it's Shepard. Get Ashley, Liara and Chakwas to come to the colony ASAP. We need their help."

"Aye-aye."

Shepard took a seat on a crate and sucked in a couple of deep breaths, calming his heart-rate. His team took seats around him, each taking time for themselves. It had been a long day already and no-one knew what to expect when it came to the thorian.

"Good catch, Commander," stated Alenko.

"Fai Dan is a good man. You can see how much he cares. He's the heart of this colony. They are going to need him to lead when we go. We had to try and save him at least."

The group fell into silence before Liara and Ashley arrived, questions being flung at the squad as to just what the hell was going on. All they knew is that the colonists had at once stage been banging on the hull door of the _Normandy_ only minutes before just as suddenly disappearing. Shepard and Alenko explained the situation regarding ExoGeni, the thorian and the mind-control, while Chakwas started helping the unconscious colonists, making sure they were at least still breathing and comfortable until the effects of the toxin, and the thorian, wore off.

"So what's the plan, Commander?" Alenko asked, as the group stood in a circle.

"Everyone's in for this one. I have no idea what we're going to face down there, but I have a feeling it's going to be more of those creeper things. So I have an idea of how to handle them. Most of you won't know what I'm about to explain. LT, Chief, you ever seen old vids about warfare from the 19th and before?"

Alenko shook his head but Ashley smiled. "Sure have, Commander. Old war flicks and westerns were a staple in our household while we were growing up."

"Good. So here's the idea." Shepard bent down to put a diagram in the sand while he looked up at his squad. "It's clear these creepers move slowly, but they seem to be tough, spit some sort of toxin that I don't really want to be covered in so we also need to keep them at distance. What we need is a constant field of fire. They have no shields, so are no doubt susceptible to biotics as well. So here's the thought." Shepard started to put dots and lines in the sand. "Tali, Wrex and I will be the front line, armed with shotguns. Tali, it's unlikely anything tech will be required, so just keep that shotgun handy."

Tali nodded with a grin behind her mask, her shotgun already in hand.

"While the three of us take a knee, Garrus and Ashley will take the flanks behind us and use their assault rifles. Use sweeping arcs across your field of vision, making sure to keep any creepers away from the front line. That's us, by the way. At the same time, keep an eye on our six, just in case, though I doubt these things are smart enough to flank us. In the middle, behind us three, I want Liara and Alenko. I only want you two to use biotics. Warps, lifts, singularities. Whatever you can do to keep those creepers off us. Everyone understand?"

There were nods and voices of agreement once Shepard finished. It was a simple plan, Shepard had no idea if would actually even come to fruition but from what they had just experienced in the garage and hallways back towards the colony, it would probably be the most effective way to deal with the creatures.

"Okay, everyone prepare your weapons and armour. We depart in five."

* * *

Tali walked over the console and lifted the section of the freighter that hid the entrance to the Thorian. Carefully, the group descended the staircase. As usual, Shepard was on point, flanked by Tali and Wrex with the other three in the middle, Garrus at the rear watching their six. After a few flights of stairs, where no opposing forces were met, the group ended up in a hallway before approaching an open area, everyone with weapons in hand. What they found was not what anyone was expecting.

"Spirits. Is that the Thorian?" wondered Garrus, as they slowly approached the giant plant… thing.

_Crap, this thing is massive… And is going to be an absolute bitch to take out._

"Shepard, what do we do?" asked Tali, relatively quietly. She was almost in awe of what she could see.

Shepard continued to slowly approach the Thorian, and was about to respond, when the Thorian almost seemed to sense their presence. It made a guttural noise, and from what appeared to be its mouth, if a plant had a mouth, a body fell to the ground. The body stood up and stared at Shepard.

_A green asari?_

Shepard stood there, slightly dumbfounded, as the green asari approached the group, with even Shepard taking a step or two backwards, weapon still raise but hesitating to fire, just for now. He could hear weapons behind him being readied. He raised his hand to indicate to his team to lower them. He wanted to hear what this asari had to say first.

"Invaders! You every step is a transgression. I speak for the Old Growth, as I did for Saren. You are within and before the Thorian. It commands you be in awe!"

Shepard couldn't argue with that. He figured his entire team was in awe. Well, everyone except probably Wrex. Nothing ever seemed to faze the old krogan.

"You speak of Saren," replied Shepard, "You gave something to him that is vital to our mission. We need that same information."

"Saren sought knowledge of those who are gone," responded the asari, "The Old Growth listened. Trades were made. Then cold ones began killing flesh. The Old Growth will no longer listen!"

"We only want the information, and to help the colonists. This is not right!"

"The Thorian is a piece of this world. You can kill it no more than cut the sky. Your blood will feed the ground and the new growth!"

And then the green asari shimmered in blue.

_Shit!_

Five weapons, plus warps from Liara and Alenko, were unloaded into the green asari, who collapsed to the ground dead under the hail of fire. There were then growls as the creepers started to rise from the ground in from of them. It was like something out of a zombie film, thought Shepard.

"Everyone, positions!" ordered Shepard, as they started to mercilessly pound away at the enemy. Tali and Wrex blasted away with their shotguns, while it appears both Liara and Alenko were both using lifts, as creepers soon started floating around the room, making them easy targets for the other five. Garrus and Ashley continued to watch their six, but confirmed no concerns from that direction. The creepers never got close, the plan Shepard had put together working like a charm. For now, at least.

"Anyone have any idea how to take this thing out?" asked Shepard, partly to himself, partly to his team, as he looked back at the Thorian, once the last creeper fell dead to the ground.

The group walked around, looking for any way to take out the Thorian. Wrex thought it may be wise to simply blast the Thorian itself, as he unloaded a few shotgun shells into it. But it didn't seem affected or injured by the shells, the Thorian appearing to only growl in response.

"That'll probably just piss it off, Wrex," answered Shepard.

"Commander, how about this?" asked Alenko, as he walked around a corner, pointing to what appeared to be a tentacle. Part of the Thorian seemed to be attached to the wall. Shepard approached the node and unloaded a few shots from his shotgun. Now that appeared to have an effect, as the Thorian made a screeching sound as fluid fell from the node, indicating the Thorian was, at the very least, wounded.

"Few more of those should do the trick, Shepard," growled Wrex.

And so the fun began. The group ascended a flight of stairs, the thorian responded to the destroyed node by dropping another green asari, an exact replica of the one they had spoken to before. Once again, the team handled the asari with relative ease. But creepers descended on the team, Shepard ordering his team into positions and barely having time to start firing. Creepers came in from all directions, the team almost having to fire in a full 360 degree circle. Bullets flew and biotics flared as it seemed as if hundreds of creepers appeared to be attacking.

Garrus found himself sprayed by the toxin, his shields and armour holding out admirably, the turian responding by merely pointing his rifle and blasting away at least three creepers. Shepard called out asking if he okay, the turian responding with yet another assault rifle burst. The group ascended a pile of rubble, another node taken out en route, the thorian continuing to shriek in defiance.

Soon any semblance of a plan fell apart as the team continued to make its way around the ruined building, the number of asari clones and creepers almost overwhelming the team at times. Nearly everyone found themselves sprayed with toxin as the team continued to take out node after node, the thorian visibly weakening with each one destroyed. The creepers just kept coming, the team run ragged, Liara and Alenko appearing ever more tired as they kept up their rate of biotic fire. Shepard was growing concerned. Surely it had to end soon!

The team ascended another flight of stairs, coming out into another wide area. Creepers were everywhere, as well as another asari clone. Shepard didn't even bother with positioning or biotics, everyone with weapons in hand and simply firing away, keeping the enemy at bay. In the distance was the node.

"Garrus, use your sniper and take out that node. Surely there can't be anymore!"

Garrus didn't reply, the clicking sound of a rifle being readied indication enough that Garrus heard the order, and only five seconds more before the first shot was fired. The creepers kept coming, it felt like a horde of them, but they never got close, Shepard and his team working as one. Garrus kept up his own rate of fire, and soon the final node was destroyed.

The thorian groaned and shrieked, as the damaged nodes started to give way. One snapped from the wall, then another and another, before finally the last one gave way, and the thorian disappeared from view, falling to wherever the bottom of the building was, no doubt hundreds of metres below.

The team stood silently as one for a moment, each one taking in deep breaths as they holstered their weapons. No-one spoke as they checked themselves over. Most of them had next to no shields left, while the armour of Shepard, Garrus and Wrex had certainly seen better days. Liara and Alenko looked exhausted after their exertions. Shepard, ever the leader, walked around his team, making sure each of them were okay.

A creaking sound grabbed the attention of the team, as another asari collapsed from a sac on the wall. Shepard was ready to grab his weapon again, but something in the back of his mind told him to simply hold for a moment. There was something different about this one, most importantly she was a regular shade of blue that all asari were. Shepard just turned and indicated to his team with a signal to be vigilant but hold off for the time being.

"Are you sure, Shepard?" asked Tali quietly. Shepard just turned, gave a small grin and nod.

_Let's see what happens first…_

"I'm free!" stated the asari, "Thank you, whoever you are."

"I'm Commander Shepard. Who are you? How did you end up here?" asked Shepard.

"My name is Shiala. I was an acolyte for Matriarch Benezia…"

Wrex growled at that, Liara started to shimmer in blue, while Shepard could sense the rest of his team tense at that name. He heard one or two of his team un-holster their weapons. Shiala stopped talking for a moment, fear in her eyes, taking a step back. Shepard turned to his team and gave a gesture for the team to keep calm and keep weapons down.

"It's okay, Shiala. Please continue."

Shiala added nervously, slightly quieter. "When she allied with Saren, so did I."

"Why did Benezia joined with Saren? That is the part we never understood."

"She joined with him to stop him from continuing along his destructive path. But… Saren, and his arguments, are compelling. Benezia could not withstand his influence. We underestimated the strength of Saren's control. We all became believers."

"How did Benezia fall under his control, almost at will?" asked Liara, "How was it so easy? Benezia was a powerful matriarch and a worthy adversary on Noveria. It doesn't make any sense."

"It's Saren's warship. The one he calls Sovereign. It dominates the mind of his followers. Eventually, all are indoctrinated. It is subtle. Slowly, but surely, everyone must bend to its will."

"How did you end up in there, Shiala?" asked Shepard, pointing to the sack she'd fallen out of.

Shiala lowered her head. "Saren needed a willing slave to communicate with the Thorian. I was then a chosen sacrifice for the alliance between the Thorian and Saren."

"What about the geth?"

Shiala tried to stifle a chuckle. "Once Saren had what he needed, he no longer needed the Thorian. He attacked because he knows you need the Cipher. He is aware of your pursuit."

"I need to know what the Cipher is. Do you know Shiala?"

"I do. Your contact with the beacon on Eden Prime has given you your vision. No doubt the visions are unclear. To understand these visions, you must think like a Prothean. Understand their existence. The Thorian has been here far longer than before the Protheans even built this city."

"So what exactly is the Cipher?"

"It's the very essence of being Prothean. You must understand a viewpoint of civilisation rising over generations. The Cipher is that knowledge. It is memory. I sensed this when I merged with the Thorian, our minds intertwining. It cannot be taught."

"Can you help me?"

"I can. Give me a moment."

Shiala approached Shepard slowly, speaking quietly. "Try to relax, Commander. Slow, deep breaths. Let go of your physical shell. Reach out to grasp the threads that bind us, one to another."

Shepard watched transfixed as Shiala stood before him. "Every action sends ripples across the galaxy. Every idea must touch another mind to live. Each emotion must mark another's spirit."

Shepard stared into Shiala's eyes as she continued. "We are all connected. Every living being united in a single, glorious existence. Open yourself to the universe, Commander."

Shepard watched as Shiala's eyes turned black. "Embrace eternity!"

The same vision again flooded Shepard mind, again haphazard and making little sense. He felt the same sense of foreboding, of hopelessness and loss as on Eden Prime.

But then something new.

But something he couldn't quite put his finger on. Outside his realm of understanding.

Whatever it was, though, he was left feeling that it what Saren was after.

Shepard opened his eyes, to see Shiala slowly step back. He turned to see his team staring at him, open-mouthed. Tali slowly walked towards Shepard. "Are you okay?" she asked quietly.

Shepard just gave a slight smile and nod. "I'm okay, Tali. Confused, but okay," he said, before turning back to Shiala.

"I have just given you the Cipher, as I did Saren. The memories of the Protheans are now yours. It will take time for you to process the information, Commander. Do not be concerned. I am sorry if you suffered, it was the only way for you to gain understanding."

"Thank you, Shiala. The question now is… What are your plans? Now that you are free…"

"If it would please you, Commander, I wish to remain here on the colony. The people here have suffered and I wish to make amends for my role in any suffering I may have caused them."

Shepard gave a grin. "A fine idea, Shiala. The colonists need all the help they can get. Once it is explained, I am sure they will be accepting. Come on, let's head back to the surface."

The group headed up the stairs, back towards the colony. The sun was shining brightly as they resurfaced, Shepard shielding his eyes from the light. He looked across the colony to see the colonists standing together as they approached.

"Who is this, Commander?" asked Fai Dan.

"This is Shiala. She was an acolyte of Matriarch Benezia, and a sacrificial pawn of Saren. She would like to make up for any distress caused by helping you rebuild the colony."

"I'm not sure, Commander," replied Fai Dan. Shepard could see some of the colonists mutter between themselves behind him.

"I can assure you all that my intentions regarding my help are noble. I only wish to help and make up for any pain I, or my former Matriarch and Saren, have caused any of you," added Shiala.

"Fai Dan, we could really do with all the help we can get," said Juliana.

Fai Dan was silent for a few moments. "Can I discuss this with the others, Shiala? I would welcome any help we can get, but I feel I should speak to everyone first."

"By all means, Fai Dan," replied Shepard.

Fai Dan and the colonists walked away and appeared to be deep in discussion. Shepard stayed near Shiala.

"I'm sure they'll see sense, Shiala," reassured Shepard.

"I hope so, Commander."

Soon Fai Dan returned, with the colonists surrounding him. There were still one or two murmurs of discontent, it seemed, but the majority appeared to be accepting.

"Very well, Shiala," stated Fai Dan, "We accept your generous offer. We understand you were just as much under the thrall of the Thorian as we were. We cannot hold you completely responsible for you actions. And, Commander, you and your crew are welcome back to Zhu's Hope any time."

Shepard offered his hand, Fai Dan accepting. "Gladly, Fai Dan. Just keep these people safe."

"I will."

"Commander, there's just one thing I'm concerned about in this whole sorry saga. Are you right to trust ExoGeni?" asked Juliana.

Shepard could only shrug his shoulders. "I know what I'm doing amounts to blackmail, but this colony needs help. If I need to hold this over them, then so be it. Where is Jeong anyway?"

"I think he went back to the ExoGeni building, no doubt to 'clean up' a lot of the mess they left behind."

"I still don't trust him, and I certainly don't trust ExoGeni, so if you run into any trouble, any of you, contact the Normandy, or get hold of Captain Anderson on the Citadel, and we'll come as soon as we can. Okay?"

Fai Dan and Juliana nodded their heads.

"Thanks for everything, Commander."

* * *

Back on the _Normandy_, the team were sitting for debrief. Liara was concerned about the Commander. Shepard had never experienced a mind-meld, as she was unsure as to how he would react. She appeared relieved when he stated he was fine. Liara then offered the same mind-meld with Shepard, as she thought that maybe she could help make sense of the visions Shepard had buried in his mind. Shepard agreed immediately, frustrated at the lack of progress. The visions were disturbing and time was running out.

_Anything to help at this point. Perhaps Liara can find out something?_

Once the meld was completed, Liara gushed about the Commander being of strong will and mind. Liara was able to decipher parts of his vision, though explained that the message was mostly incomplete. And, the worst news, is that Liara learned nothing more than what the team already knew. Disappointment enveloped the team. It was another dead end. Once Liara disappeared, suffering from exhaustion due to the meld and her own exertions regarding the thorian, the team slowly dispersed to their stations.

Shepard sat alone in the communications room, deep in thought, as his team disappeared out the door.

* * *

_A/N - I'll be honest, Shepard's idea for dealing with the thorian creepers is based on an idea I read in 'World War Z' on how armies dealt with the zombie apocalypse. Creepers were kinda like zombies so adapted that to fit my own story._

_Another character saved as well. Every play through, Fai Dan kills himself. Not this time! I have ideas of how to fit Feros into the future (not just in ME1 as well...)_


	21. Chapter 20 - Revelations

_A/N – First, my thanks to Silhouette55 for picking up my minor error regarding Liara appearing in a scene in the previous chapter she couldn't possibly have been in. I updated it immediately. Oops!_

_For this chapter, I'll be honest. I've re-written the conversation, towards the end, between Shepard and Tali at least 5 times! In my head, I know what I'm trying to get across regarding my Shepard character (as I mentioned in my blurb for 'The Admiral' and will be revealed further still)._

* * *

Shepard and his entourage were walking through the wards, on their way towards one of their normal watering holes, while they spent a free day away from the _Normandy_. The _Normandy_ was constantly back and forth through the mass relay network as Shepard and his crew completed various assignments, either for the Alliance or the Council. So, as reward for all their hard work, Shepard thought it would be nice to have at least 24 hours relaxation before moving on to their next assignment. And there was no better place he could think of than the lower wards of the Citadel. Shepard enjoyed the character of the wards much more than the sterile atmosphere of the Presidium, and he knew most of this group agreed. It was as the group were just about to enter one of their favourite bars when a human voice called out, catching all their attention.

"Well, holy shit! If it isn't the great Commander Shepard."

Shepard turned around to look for where the voice had come from. He noticed a human male leaning against a wall. Shepard peered at the human, trying to remember and recognise who the human was.

_He looks familiar…_

"Who are you?" he asked, as he indicated towards his team to halt. They formed a semi-circle around him, almost as if they sensed trouble.

"Now that hurts, Shepard. After all that time spent together, are you telling me you don't remember your old pal Finch? Come on, man, we were like brothers!"

Shepard was silent for a moment, arms crossed against his chest as he took in the man named Finch. Memories from his life on Earth, long supressed, came flooding back. His blood ran hot and cold through his veins. He knew exactly who he was now. And he wanted to know what he was doing here.

"What the fuck do you want, Finch?" Shepard practically growled.

"Now that hurts even more, Shepard. I mean, you were part of our gang for nearly 6 years. Tenth Street Reds represent! But then you just up and disappeared on us, and the next thing we know, you're on the vids being unveiled as the first human Spectre! I mean, do these damned aliens behind you even know who you really are?"

Shepard gritted his teeth, his arms slowly uncrossing and moving to his side as his fists started to clench. "I would choose your words very carefully around my **friends**, Finch," he said quietly.

"Shit, Shepard. What happened to you? You were family!"

Shepard closed the distance to Finch, until they were almost eyeball to eyeball. He spoke low and menacingly. "I don't have a family. I've never had a family! I was an orphan and a runaway, you fucking dumbass, or did you forget about that?! And you actually think I enjoyed being part of your gang? It was a means to end, the only chance of survival I had at the time, or do you not understand what any of that means? It was either join your so-called 'gang', or try and survive, but more than likely die, alone on the streets. Now, I will ask you one more time before I really lose my patience. What do you want?"

Finch took a step back, glaring back at Shepard.

"Well, well, well. Someone has a selective memory. Do your 'friends' behind you know about what the Reds stood for?"

"I never believed in all that shit you and your lackeys used to spout, Finch. Quite frankly the likes of you, your group, and those xenophobes currently protesting outside Flux, are an utter embarrassment to humanity and the Alliance."

Tali had approached the two, as the rest of the group had closed in around their Commander. "Shepard, what is he talking about? What sort of group are these Reds?"

"The Tenth Street Reds are gang based on Earth, Tali. Most of them are xenophobes. They don't like what we once called aliens," replied Shepard.

"And you were part of them?"

Shepard hung his head, almost in shame, for a moment, before he turned and looked at Tali. "I've spent the past ten years making up for any mistakes I may have made while I was with these people."

"Mistakes? We aren't a mistake, Shepard. And now you're starting to piss me off. I was thinking if I asked you would help me out, an old friend reaching out, considering all that we went through together. I mean shit, man, you used to be one of our best soldiers. You were on the front-lines of the battles we used to fight against the authorities back on Earth. But now it seems you may need some persuasion. It seems you've been infected," stated Finch.

Shepard turned back to look at Finch. "For the last time, Finch, answer the fucking question. Why are you here? What do you want?"

"The Reds need a favour, Shepard. You see, one of our boys, name of Curt Weisman, he's kinda got himself into a bit of trouble. He's found himself arrested by the turian's for a minor offence, and he now finds himself locks up in jail. Now, what we need you to do is talk to one of the turian guards in Chora's Den, and get him released."

Shepard actually laughed as he spoke. "And what makes you think I'll help you out?"

"Oh, we're sure you'll help us out, Shepard. If not out of loyalty to us, which you clearly don't and no longer have, but because if you don't, we'll make sure the Council and the Alliance are made aware of your past. I think they'll be very interested to know what the great Commander Shepard was up to before he ran away and joined the Alliance."

Shepard's blood boiled, anger and adrenaline immediately coursing through his veins. Before the other man could even react, Shepard grabbed Finch by the collar with his left hand, and with his right, laid a punch into his stomach, leaving Finch curled over and sliding down a wall. In an instant, Shepard had his pistol un-holstered and in his right hand, kneeling down in front of him, forcing Finch's chin up with the barrel.

_You have no idea how much I want to pull the trigger, asshole._

"Who the fuck do you think you are?" Shepard shouted into Finch's face, "I haven't given you people a second thought since I signed up with the Alliance. I was gone. I was finally gone. I was free from the shackles of Earth and that so-called life I'd had so far. I'm making something of myself, finally free from the constraints of everything I once experienced. And I have a team of people behind me, friends, who believe in what I do and what I'm trying to achieve. And now you show up here and try and blackmail me into helping you out? I should put a bullet through your skull right now for merely suggesting it!"

"You'll pay for this, you son of a bitch."

Shepard smashed the pistol sideways down into Finch's face, leaving blood gushing from his nose. He found he enjoyed doing that so much, he did it again. And again. And again. Blood was left all over Finch's face. One of his eyes closed up, battered and bruised. His nose was clearly broken. A split lip oozing blood. Anger continued to course through Shepard's veins. His finger trembled on the trigger, aching to pull and end his life.

"Shepard!" came a cry from behind. It sounded like Alenko, but with the adrenaline rushing around his body, his own heart-beat in his ears, he wasn't sure. Shepard didn't turn around, but he nodded his head and took a deep breath. Calmed himself down.

He placed the barrel under his chin again.

"You're lucky I have friends who actually give a shit about scum like you."

"Go fuck yourself, Shepard," spat Finch, blood dripping from his mouth, "You're going down."

Shepard laughed again. "You're kidding, right? Who do you think the Council and Alliance are going to believe? The Hero of Elysium and first human Spectre, or some punk-ass nobody from some shithole back on Earth? And even if you did go say something, I may get a question or two. But look at the person I am now to what I once was. You're an idiot if you think anything will happen. Hell, I could even put a bullet in you now and I won't be questioned or arrested. You'll just be written off as another dead punk who got what he deserved."

Tali walked up to stand beside Shepard, laying a hand on his shoulder. "He's not worth it, Shepard," she said quietly.

"I know he's not, Tali. He isn't worth the time and hassle of C-Sec having to fill out forms explaining his death. But I know a way I can solve this problem right away."

Shepard stood up, holstering his pistol on his side, before he hauled up Finch by his collar. He then proceeded to effectively drag Finch towards Chora's Den, Finch yelling all manner of curses towards Shepard and his entourage, Shepard making sure to slam Finch into a wall every so often along the way in an effort to shut him up. It didn't work as they entered Chora's Den, nearly the entire club turning around and looking towards the pair as they burst through the doors, before turning back to whatever they were doing. Shepard stopped and searched the club for a moment, before he noticed a turian guard. Figuring that was who he wanted, he approached him.

"Excuse me, officer. I'm Commander Shepard, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure thing, Commander," replied the guard.

"Do you currently have a human by the name of Curt Weisman locked up?"

"We do, Commander."

"Good. I have placed this man under arrest. Spectre Authority. He is an accomplice of Curt Weisman. You are to keep the two placed in detention indefinitely."

"Understood, Commander. We'll take him off your hands immediately. Though, usually Spectres find… other ways of dealing with people."

"Not my style. But, thanks."

The turian laughed. "Not your style…" as he looked over the clearly bloodied human, "If you say so, Commander."

The turian placed a set of handcuffs on Finch's wrists, and with a final nod, led the human out of Chora's Den and presumably to jail. Finch continued yelling obscenities at Shepard, the turian guard, and all his squad-mates as he was walked out of the club. Shepard watched them leave, standing by himself, then let out a sigh as he lowered his head, looking at the ground for the moment. He turned and looked at his squad. He tried reading their expressions. The humans and Liara were quite easy to read. Their expressions were simply one of shock. The other three in the group were a bit more difficult to read, Shepard could only assume what they were thinking as well.

"I'm going back to the ship. I've lost my appetite for a good time. You guys enjoy yourselves though, if you can." And with a sad smile, he walked out of the club alone.

* * *

Tali sat with the rest of the crew in Chora's Den, the drink in front of her basically untouched. She listened in to the conversation, most of it, obviously, revolving around the events that had happened earlier. Most were surprised Shepard was part of a gang at all, let alone one that was anti-alien. It didn't fit his profile. They had all gotten to know him very well, or as well as they could, considering he barely spoke about himself, but he had always been more than accepting of anyone and everyone on the ship. He'd gone out of his way to make everyone feel welcome. In particular the non-humans, who he had always treated as part of the crew, as equals to any others who served.

Tali was feeling conflicted. She had always been somewhat intrigued by Shepard's past, as it seemed no-one on the _Normandy_ knew much, no more than the basics of his birthplace of Earth and birthday. Other than that, it seemed no-one could get him to reveal anything. She wasn't disappointed that Shepard had been part of a gang, she wasn't going to judge him for anything he had done as a kid, but she wanted to understand. She needed some answers.

Eventually the group tired and decided to head back to the _Normandy_. Once back on the ship, most crew members headed to the sleeping pods. Tali avoided their attentions by heading down to engineering for ten or so minutes to check how things were in the core. After leaving enough time for everyone to have disappeared into a sleeping pod, she steeled herself and headed back upstairs.

She knocked on his door.

_I hope he's not asleep…_

She heard footsteps approach and the door open. She looked at the man in front of her. She looked him over, down his body to his hands, where an open bottle was held in his fingers in his right hand. It looked similar to the one she saw on the table from that night after Nepheron and the loss of Kahoku. He rubbed down his face with his other hand, his eyes bleary and bloodshot.

_Has he been drinking alone again?_

"Shepard, can we talk? Please?"

Tali watched Shepard sigh, his shoulders slump, as he looked down at her. He tried to smile, but it failed to reach his lips or his eyes. Shepard stood to the side and gestured to Tali to entire. She walked into the room and took the available chair near to the desk. Shepard sat on the edge of the bed, replacing the cap on the bottle he held in his hand, before storing it in the small cupboard next to his bed. He looked up at Tali and gave another sad smile.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of your company, Tali?"

Tali was silent for a moment as she gathered her thoughts. She had a million and one questions in her mind but was unsure where to start. She wanted to break through the wall Shepard clearly had built around him, allowing no-one through. She thought he had friends, but no-one seemed to be that close to him. No-one on the ship knew much about him. The only one who might, Anderson, was no longer around. She was desperate to break down that wall, prove to him that he wasn't alone. She saw him carry the burdens of command, of all the lives that depended on him, not just on the ship, but the galaxy as a whole. She wanted to understand who this man was. She thought she had seen glimpses of who he was underneath, but these were only flashes, maybe a fleeting smile, before it disappeared and the wall came up again.

"I want to know the real Shepard," said Tali quietly, "Not the Commander, the man you want to portray to the outside world and your own team. I want to know the man underneath. Just who are you, Commander Shepard? You've built this wall up around you. I want to understand why. Why won't you let anyone get close? I mean, really close? I already consider you a really good friend, considering everything you've already done for me, but when I think about it, I don't really know much about you at all in return. Yet you've gone out of your way to get to know nearly everything about me, about my people and where I'm from, since I came aboard."

Shepard chuckled slightly at that. "You want to know the real me? Shit, I wouldn't know where to start, Tali. Where does Commander Shepard start or end, and John Shepard begin?"

_His first name is John!_

"I didn't even know your first name was John," exclaimed Tali.

Shepard could only let out a small chuckle, laced with bitterness. "No-one ever really asks, Tali. To most people I am either 'Commander' or 'Shepard'. This is my life, Tali. As I've said, I just do what I'm told, and get the job done. That's about it. It's quite simple. To be honest, that's the way I like it."

"Why?" she asked quietly.

Shepard could only shrug his shoulders. "You really want to know everything?"

Tali nodded.

Shepard sighed and shrugged his shoulders again. "Okay, let's start at the very beginning. As you probably know, I was born on Earth, but was left outside an orphanage..."

That surprised Tali. She thought he'd yelled something similar at the other human, but in everything that happened, couldn't be sure if she remembered correctly. "You're an orphan?" she asked, interrupting him, "You don't know who your parents are?"

Shepard shook his head sadly. "No, as I was saying, I was left outside an orphanage not long after I was born. All I know is my name and my birthday, and the fact I was born in a large city on Earth. I was abandoned, Tali. That's what I mean by that I've always been alone. I've never had a family. I've never really had anyone. The first person who really seemed to ever give a shit about me was Anderson. I was already 18 and an adult by then when I met him, on the day I signed up to join the Alliance Navy. Most of my childhood was... well, quite simply, not worth remembering."

Tali was silent. She didn't know what to say to that. It was not what she expected at all.

"And you never thought to look for your parents?"

Shepard's eyes flared with numerous emotions in a few seconds. Anger, disappointment, before finally sadness. "No. Why would I? It would only lead to further issues. And questions. The most obvious being why? But, if I'm honest with myself, I really don't want to know the answer, even after all these years. No, I'm better off not knowing who they were."

"So how did you end up in that gang?"

"I've made mistakes in my life, Tali. I have some regrets of my own making. That is one of them. I've spent every day since the day I turned 18 making up for those mistakes. The worst one was joining that gang. I never thought I'd hear the name Tenth Street Reds again."

"So why join them?"

"I ran away from the orphanage when I was around 13 or so. Don't ask me why, I can't remember why either. Probably some stupid idea at the time. All I remember is feeling alone. I watched kids come and go through the orphanage. Though not very often. Because of advances in medical science, anyone who couldn't have kids would go to a doctor and it's a quick fix. Not like it was a couple of hundred years ago, when adoption and fostering was an option for people who struggled or couldn't conceive. But, then there are those of us who are abandoned, and simply left to live a life in an orphanage until we're old enough to be kicked out into the big wide world. Granted, at least I had a roof over my head, clothes on my back and food in my belly, but that was it. Once I realised the score, I just shut people out. Why bother letting people get close? I knew how it was all going to end eventually. Don't get me wrong, the people who ran the place were friendly enough, but to them, I was just a job. A mouth to feed. Eventually I would have been kicked out anyway, once I reached 16.

So, anyway, I'm on the streets as a young kid, scratching to get by. I did some things I regret..."

"Like what, Shepard?"

"I lived a life of petty crime for a while. Stealing and pickpocketing. One or two muggings, once I was a bit older, as I've always had size and strength on my side. Things like small corner shops were always the best target for food. The pickpocketing got me a bit of money every so often."

"You stole?" asked Tali in surprise. Such things were unheard of in quarian society. Everything was shared to ensure the survival of the fleet.

Shepard grimaced but shrugged his shoulders. "I had to do something to survive, Tali. It's one of the many mistakes I continue to make up for. But, in the end, I still ended up alone. More than ever before.

I joined that gang because I was left feeling I had no other options, Tali. At least with them we could work as some sort of team, no matter how idiotic it sounds. Plus, at least I had people to be with. But, even then, I never let them get close. They knew my name and that I was a runaway. That was about it."

"What about the anti-alien thing that man mentioned?"

Shepard shook his head sadly. "Some of the gang were complete xenophobes. They think the worst thing humanity has ever done is open the mass relays. I guess they preferred living alone in the galaxy. Or don't like the co-operation we currently have with the Council, and all the other races around."

"And what about your opinion?" Tali asked quietly. She dreaded asking. She wasn't sure what he would say. Did he ever believe that?

"I never, NEVER, believed a word of that bullshit, Tali. Please, above anything else, believe me when I say that. But…," Shepard sighed before continuing, his voice low, "You do things to 'fit in', so to speak. Things that I'm not proud of. Things I regret every single day."

Tali nodded. She didn't want to pry too much into what he'd done. She could see in Shepard's face what he meant. "I believe you, Shepard," she said quietly.

Shepard grinned slightly before continuing. "That's why I joined the Alliance. I wanted to get away from that life. I wanted to explore the galaxy. I wanted to make something of myself, make something of my life. Get out of the rut of existence I was experiencing on Earth. But I also wanted to meet all the different races out there, the different cultures, experience something completely different to that which I had on Earth. It was intriguing. I find it fascinating. It's why I'm always asking you questions about quarians. It's a completely different way of life to one on Earth."

Tali grinned behind her mask at that. This was more like the Shepard she knew. She could hear the passion in his voice once again.

"Once I was away from Earth, I left that life behind. Tried to forget about it. Effectively had, until Finch showed up. That just brought back a lot of bad memories. That part of my life, it's not something I'm proud of. I've become a better man since that time."

Tali sat there quietly for a moment, trying to figure out how to phrase the next question. She was left with the feeling of sadness. It was something she noticed at times like this. It vibrated off him. How could he realise he wasn't alone?

"Shepard, has there ever been anyone… close? I mean, I now know you don't have a family. But has there ever been... anyone else?"

"What do you mean? Like a wife or girlfriends?"

Tali nodded.

"Not really. Once I joined the Alliance, I simply haven't had the time or inclination to bother pursuing a relationship. Fraternization within the Alliance service is frowned upon. Any relationships that do start up come under pressure from up top, either breaking up the couple or forcing one of them out if they refuse to split. And there's no point starting a relationship with anyone outside the service. You only have to talk to Anderson about his history of relationships to see how that ends. Relationships or marriage as an Alliance officer, particularly if your partner is back on Earth… it's just impossible for it work. I can count on one hand how many times I've been back to Earth since I joined up. Sure, there was the occasional girl, but they were nothing but flings. No-one special. And no-one I've let get close. Certainly not fallen in love with anyone. I'm simply better off being alone."

Tali scooted her chair closer to Shepard, and took hold of his hands. "Shepard, you're not alone as you think. I'm here for you. Everyone on this ship is here for you."

Shepard looked down and spoke quietly. "Everyone leaves in the end, Tali. I've lost count of the number of people, friends, I've watched die. Or simply leave. Even friendships are impossible at times. I don't think I've spent more than six months in one place in the past ten years."

Shepard looked back up at Tali. "And you're going to leave in the end, too."

Tali reached up and caressed his cheek. "I'll always be your friend, Shepard. No matter what."

_I want more than that…_

Shepard gave a small smile. "That's one thing about you, Tali. You make me feel… comfortable… It's not the best word there is to describe how I feel. But I really enjoy our talks. And I'm glad you're here now."

"Why?" asked Tali.

He gave a small smile again. "You're the first person I've ever shared all this with. Not just this, but about other parts of my past as well. No-one knows a lot, if anything, about my background. Even Anderson only knows the absolute basics. He's never really pried.

But, after everything I've just shared, I'm left with the feeling that after telling you all this, your opinion of me won't change. And that you won't tell anyone. I know we're completely different people, from different backgrounds and cultures. Our upbringing was at the opposite spectrum. But, I don't know, I just find you easy to talk to. To share all this with you. And I trust you, Tali. Completely. And that's a big thing for me. Trust. I can count on one hand how many people I would trust any of this with."

Tali grinned behind her mask. "Of course not, Shepard. Who am I to judge you? But… I…" Tali paused, trying of something to say. She kept it simple. "Thank you, Shepard," she said softly, "For your honesty. And your trust. And, I promise, this is just between you and me."

Shepard just nodded but also grinned slightly. "Guess I needed to get all of this off my chest eventually. And I couldn't think of anyone better to share with. Thank you, Tali. For listening."

The pair sat there in silence for a moment. "Okay, Shepard, it's late and I should go to bed. Lots of work tomorrow."

Shepard just nodded and the pair stood up and walked towards the door. Shepard opened the door, but before letting Tali out of the room, he grabbed her by the hand and pulled her in close for a hug. Tali responded by wrapping her arms around him in return.

_Keelah, I could get used to this. To feel his arms around me._

"Thanks again, for listening, Tali," he whispered, "It means more than you can imagine."

Tali could only nod her head while it rested on his chest. Shepard eventually let her go, and with a final nod of the head and expressions of goodnight, she walked out of his room and to her pod. She felt slightly better about things as she stepped into it.

She remembered having a smile on her face as she eventually went to sleep.


End file.
